LOUDONVILLE, NY – The Iona College volleyball program lost its final match of the 2019 season in four sets (24-26, 26-24, 17-25, 16-25) to Siena College at the Alumni Recreation Center on Saturday afternoon.
GAME SUMMARY
The two sets in the match went back-and forth as the teams traded 26-24 scores. Iona hit .216 in the first set and Siena hit .265. In the second set, the Gaels offense was flowing at a .417 clip, besting the Saints own respectable .333 hitting percentage.
Before dropping the first set, Iona did have a match point following a service ace from redshirt senior
Jessica Paolucci. Siena's Dakota Jackson tied the match at 24, then back-to-back kills from Sol Guidarelli ended the first frame, which featured seven ties.
In the second set, it was Siena who failed on a chance to close out the match. The Gaels fended off set points at 24-22 and 24-23, but kills from junior
Jamie Smith and sophomore
Cassandra Patsos allowed for a tie game at 24. With the serve, Iona benefited from two Siena attack errors to tie the match at one set apiece.
The Maroon & Gold held a quick 5-3 lead at the start of the third set but Siena regained the edge and led 13-8 midway through. The Saints increased their lead to 20-12 before a service error spared the Gaels from the run extending. The Saints won the set decisively, 25-17, never allowing Iona to get within five.
Siena lept to a 9-3 run to start the fourth set when the Gaels had three errors on attack attempts. Iona got back to within three at 11-8, but a seven-point run from the Saints put the Maroon & Gold back in a whole, 17-9. Siena kept a seven-point margin at minimum before closing out the set and match at 25-16.
STATISTICAL LEADERS
- Smith had a team-high 17 kills. She was the only player with double-digit kills for Iona. Rookie Julia Thomas and sophomore Alessandra Brady had eight kills each. Smith hit .395 in the match.
- Freshman Samantha Juran had 23 assists. Sophomore Maile Powell contributed 14.
- Paolucci had a team-best three aces and 16 digs. Patsos, Smith, and senior Alexandra Russo combined for four aces.
- Iona only had four total blocks in the match. Smith had three block assists and Johnson had two block assists and one solo stuff.
- Siena's Jackson had 18 kills and a .382 hitting percentage. Maria Llinas had 35 assists and Mandy Dunigan had seven blocks.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Iona had 16 kills and 13 attack errors in the third and fourth set; the Gaels had 18 kills and three errors in just the second set.
- Iona finishes the 2019 season with a 5-22, 5-13 MAAC record. The Gaels were 3-6 at home, 2-10 on the road and 0-6 at neutral sites.
- Siena holds a 19-15 all-time record against Iona. Saturday afternoon's contest snaps a five-game winning streak the Maroon & Gold had dating back to 2017. They had won seven of the last eight meetings.
- Saturday's game was the final collegiate game for Alexandra Russo, Julia Stewart, Tess Connolly, Karla Johnson and Jessica Paolucci.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Be sure to follow Iona College athletics on all social media platforms:
ICGaels: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube (Email Updates)
Iona Volleyball: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube (Email Updates)
