HAMDEN, CT – It had been a series recently dominated by Quinnipiac Volleyball over Siena, but that all changed on Friday night at Burt Kahn Court as the Saints flipped the script on the Bobcats to a tune of a 3-1 win (25-23, 14-25, 25-19, 25-23).
Siena used a 9-0 run with eight straight service points in the third set to regain control after Quinnipiac had taken the second set and the Saints defeated Quinnipiac for just the second time in the past 11 meetings and first time since 2022.
It broke a five-match win streak for the Bobcats against the Saints.Â
In doing so, Siena (10-9 overall, 5-1 Metro) reached double-digit victories in back-to-back seasons since the 2015 and 2016 seasons.Â
Quinnipiac dropped to 4-13 overall and 3-3 in Metro play.
Redshirt senior libero
Brooke Malek was all over the court and led Siena with a career-high 33 digs.
Sophomore right side
Mary Claire Deacy soaked up 19 kills, hit .378 and added five blocks.
Junior setter
Abby Edwards finished with 40 assists, nine digs, two block assists and an ace.
This marks the fourth time in the previous five matches that Edwards had had at least 40 assists and has now gone over 500 for the season with 526. (7.62 assists per set).Â
Junior middle blocker and transfer from UNC Asheville
Alison Goldberg posted seven total blocks, including three solo blocks, and added four kills.
Set-by-Set
Siena came through late in the first set, converting set point for a 25-23 win after Quinnipiac had tied the set at 20-20, 21-21 and 22-22. Earlier, Siena scored the first two points and built an 8-5 edge, with Goldberg contributing a block on the opening point, Deacy putting down two early kills and
Hannah Bowman adding an ace. The middle of the set featured Siena sideouts and kills from
Brianna Miller,
Maggie Seymour and
Gabrielle Wire, and Siena moved ahead 15-11 on a Quinnipiac attack error before the home team worked back into the set. After the 22-22 tie, Wire's kill from Edwards and another Quinnipiac attack error gave Siena set point; following a Bowman service error, Wire finished Edwards' assist to close the set.
Siena stayed within reach early in the second set, getting a block from Goldberg and Deacy and three early Deacy kills to take brief leads at 2-1 and 3-2. Quinnipiac answered with five straight points to move ahead 7-3, but Siena worked back behind Deacy, a Seymour-Edwards block, a Bowman ace and a Wire kill to pull within 10-9. Quinnipiac responded with another scoring stretch, pushing the margin to 14-9 and later 19-10 as Siena was hurt by attack and setting errors. Deacy added a fifth kill, and Miller and Seymour scored late, but Quinnipiac closed out the set 25-14.
Siena turned the third set with a nine-point run after falling behind 8-6, using
Abby Edwards' serve to move in front 15-8. Deacy and Wire each had two kills during that stretch, Edwards added an ace, and Deacy teamed with Goldberg on a block as Siena took control of the set. Quinnipiac answered with short pushes later in the set, including a move from 20-12 to 20-15 and another from 23-16 to 23-19, but Siena responded with a Seymour block to reach set point. Goldberg finished the set with a kill from Edwards, giving Siena a 25-19 win in the third.
Siena overcame a 16-13 deficit and won four of the final five points to take the fourth set from Quinnipiac, 25-23. Earlier, Siena built an 8-3 lead with kills from Deacy, Wire, Goldberg and Edwards, plus a block by Edwards and Seymour. Quinnipiac moved in front in the middle of the set, but Siena answered with a Seymour-Deacy block, two Quinnipiac errors, a Deacy kill and a Miller kill to go ahead 18-17. In the closing stretch, Deacy delivered back-to-back kills and teamed with Goldberg on a block before a Quinnipiac setting error ended the set.
Up Next
Siena visits Merrimack (1-18, 1-5 Metro) on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Hammel Court in North Andover, Massachusetts.
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