SCORE: Niagara 1, Siena 3 (25-19, 12-25, 28-26, 25-15)
RECORDS: Niagara (2-11, 0-1 MAAC), Siena (2-9, 1-0 MAAC)
LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. – The Niagara Purple Eagles lost in four sets to the Siena Saints to begin MAAC play on Saturday.
Match Summary
- Niagara tied the match at 1-1 by taking the second set with a 25-12 score. Â After trailing 6-3, the Purple Eagles rolled past the Saints by closing out the set on a 22-6 run.
- Siena edged NU in third set. Niagara trailed 23-19, but tied the set at 25-25 on a kill by Madison May. The set was tied at 26-26 when the Saint scored the next two points to win the set.
- The Saints broke open a 6-6 tie in the fourth set with a 10-4 run on their way to clinching the match.
Purple Points
- Alex Stone became the program's all-time leader in block assists (291). She had a match-high eight block assists to go along with two solo blocks.
- Three Purple Eagles were in double-digit kills. Caroline Leitch led Niagara with 13 kills and had a match-high .393 hitting percentage, which is the third highest percentage by a Purple Eagle this season. Madison May had 11 kills and six block assists, and Nicole Matheis had 10 kills and seven digs.
- Alexis Gray had her team-leading fifth double-double of the season with 37 assists and 15 digs.
- Rylee Hunt had her third 20-dig match of the season with a team-leading 20. She has had double-digit digs in 11th straight matches.
Coach's Corner
- That's one of those losses that I'm sure the team will look back on at some point and really feel like we let one get away. All the credit goes to Siena, they played a very strong match and at key points seized the momentum. We have some specific things we know we can work on and that will help us in our upcoming matches. – Head Coach Vilis Ozols
Up Next
- The Purple Eagles continue their conference opening weekend at Marist on Sunday.
