LOUDONVILLE, NY - Iona Volleyball came up short in a back-and-forth five setter (25-16, 16-25, 20-25, 25-23,10-15) at Siena on Saturday afternoon. After dropping sets two and three, the Gaels fought back to force a deciding fifth set at the UHY Center.
Iona came ready to play on the road, winning the first set 25-16, taking control of the opening set and never trailing. Late in the set, Siena cut the deficit to 19-13 however. Iona answered by scoring three out of the next four points, forcing the Saints to burn a timeout. Freshman
Nerin Valasakos clinched the opening set for the Gaels with a kill. The offense was the story in set one, posting 17 kills with sophomores
Jen Soto and
Emma Jacobs leading the charge with five kills each.
In set two, Siena seized control. After being knotted up at four early on, Siena won the next five points by taking advantage of four straight attack errors, forcing Iona to call a timeout. Soto eventually ended the run with a kill, cutting the lead to 9-5, but momentum had shifted as Siena remained in front, winning 25-16 and evening the match up at set apiece.
Iona and Siena battled throughout the third set as the frame saw 13 lead changes and 12 ties before Siena finally broke through late. The Gaels had several leads including a 9-6 and 15-13 advantage but couldn't manage to hold off the Saints. Tied at 17, Siena used an 8-3 run on six kills to help close out the third set, winning 25-20 and forcing match point in Loudonville.
The fourth set was a thriller as the Maroon & Gold showed off their resiliency, winning 25-23. Trailing 23-22 the Gaels were on brink of losing before fighting back and winning the sets final three points to force a deciding set. The late run was propelled by back-to-back clutch kills from junior
Fleur Wiersma and Valasakos, giving the Gaels set point. Iona closed out the set on an attack error by Siena.
In the fifth and final set, Siena regained the momentum, taking control once again. After trailing 3-1 the Saints won the next seven points, forcing Iona to call timeout. The crucial 7-0 run proved to be the difference maker as Siena pulled away, winning 15-10 behind Maddy Dunigan's team-high 15 kills and Meghan Johnsson's game-high 45 assists.
In the loss, Iona posted season-highs with 83 digs and 60 kills. The Gaels fall to 1-2 in MAAC play, while Siena earned its first win of the season.
Soto posted a team high in kills for the second straight game with 15, as senior
Cassandra Patsos chipped in with 13 kills and 19 digs. Jacobs notched a season-high 11 kills and junior
Samantha Juran handed out a team-high 39 assists.
UP NEXT
Iona continues their road trip and are back in action tomorrow as they take on Marist at 1:00 p.m. The match will be streamed live on the Red Fox Network.
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