Loudonville, N.Y. — Niagara volleyball won the opening set but could not hold up as Siena took the next three sets and the match, 3-1 (18-25, 25-21, 25-17, 25-19), on Friday night at the UHY Center.
The Purple Eagles fell to 2-16, 1-9 Metro Conference, while the Saints improved to 13-11, 7-3 Metro.
First set: Niagara 25, Siena 18
Niagara trailed early in the first set as Siena scored the first three points, and Mary Claire Deacy's three kills during a run pushed the Saints to a 7-2 lead.
Karlotta Kattai's kill made it 7-3, and the Purple Eagles began to claw back. Kattai served back-to-back aces to cut it to 8-6, and Kadence Goolsby's kill made it 9-7. Goolsby and Taylor Jenkins then combined on a block that forced a Gabrielle Wire attack error, and a Katelynn Rottman kill tied the set at 9-9 on the way to 10-10 from Paisley Ka'ahanui's ace.
Niagara then took its first lead of the match on a Payton Lee kill and ran off eight straight points. Ka'ahanui served seven in a row, adding a second ace and a kill of her own on a second-contact swing. Jenkins and Lee blocked Wire for another point, and Ashley Moreland and Jenkins added kills to make it 16-10.
Siena answered with a five-point run behind Autumn Willmott's serve, getting within 16-15 on Willmott's ace. Niagara steadied with a Ka'ahanui kill and a Kattai kill, and led 18-16 before Siena pulled within one again at 18-17.
The Purple Eagles then closed the set on a 7-1 run. Jakayla Brown and Kattai blocked Maggie Seymour and Brown and Goolsby blocked Brianna Miller to make it 22-17. Kattai's kill made it 23-17. Goolsby's kill made it 24-18, and Kattai ended the set with her third ace of the set.
Second set: Siena 25, Niagara 21
The second set went back and forth, with 11 ties. Niagara led 2-0 on Jenkins' ace, and the two teams traded points until Kattai's back-to-back kills, both set by Rottman, put the Purple Eagles up 4-3. Niagara led 6-5 and 9-7 on Lee's kill, and Jenkins' block on a Deacy attack made it 10-7, Niagara's largest lead to that point.
Siena rallied to tie it at 11-11 on a Willmott ace, but Niagara answered. Kattai's kill and Jenkins' ace made it 14-11, and Lee's kill pushed the lead to 15-12. Kattai and Brown blocked Miller for 16-13, and Kattai's ace made it 17-13, the biggest lead of the set.
Siena won five straight points to take an 18-17 lead, with Wire putting down two kills and Edwards one while Miller served. Niagara fought back. Rottman's kill tied it at 18-18, Jenkins gave Niagara the lead at 19-18, and Goolsby and Jenkins blocked Wire for a 20-19 advantage.
Siena tied it at 20-20 and won five of the final six points with Wire's kill and a Willmott ace ended it.
Third set: Siena 25, Niagara 17
Niagara led only once, 1-0 on a Ka'ahanui ace. Siena won the next three points, and after Jenkins' kill made it 3-2, Deacy served four straight to put the Saints up 7-2. Niagara rallied with Kattai kills to get within 7-4 and 9-6, but Siena responded with another four-point run to lead 13-6. Seymour, Wire and Miller had kills in the run, and Goldberg and Edwards blocked Goolsby on the last point.
The Purple Eagles never got closer than five points after that. Kattai's ace made it 13-8 and Goolsby's kill made it 15-9, but Niagara again gave away points at the end. The Purple Eagles committed four service errors and eight attack errors in the set, three by Kattai, who still had six kills. Jenkins added three kills, including the last two points of the set.
Fourth set: Siena 25, Niagara 19
Niagara opened with a point on a Willmott service error, but Siena took control right away. After Kattai's kill tied it at 2-2, Siena ran off six straight points, with Deacy serving the last five. Deacy had an ace and a kill during the run. Siena led 8-2, and the margin grew to 11-3 on a block by Seymour, then to 14-5.
Niagara pulled to 15-9 on Ka'ahanui's ace, a Lee kill and a Siena setting error. Wire had a kill on three of Siena's final four points to go ahead 21-13, and the Saints reached match point at 24-13.
The Purple Eagles then saved six match points. Goolsby's kill ended Siena's serve, and Ka'ahanui served five straight points. Deacy committed two attack errors, Wire had two errors, and Jenkins and Lee and then Rottman and Jenkins blocked. Rottman's kill was also part of the run, which made it 19-24. A Purple Eagles attack error ended it.
Niagara Notes
Niagara is now 28-29 all-time against Siena
Kattai recorded a career-high 20 kills
Ka'ahanui led the offense with 18 assists
Jenkins tallied a career-high six blocks
Up Next
Niagara wraps up the weekend against Marist Saturday October 24 at 2:00 pm.
