For the second-straight Friday, the Canisius volleyball team battled back from being down 2-0 in the match force a fifth set, but this time, the Golden Griffins came up short and lost to Siena 3-2 in Metro Conference action at the Koessler Athletic Center in Buffalo, N.Y.
With the win, Siena improved to 17-12 overall and 11-4 in conference, while Canisius fell 5-20 overall and 4-11 in Metro action. The Saints won the match by set scores of 25-18, 25-22, 25-27, 26-28, 15-7.
The Siena duo Gabrielle Wire and Mary Claire Deacy each collected 19 kills in the victory, with Deacy hitting .447 through the five-set match. Brooke Malek recorded 19 digs for her squad, while teammate Oliwia Majtyka led all players with 28 assists.
Emma Isroff led Canisius with 13 kills, seven digs, four block assists and four of the Griffs' 10 service aces on the night. Brenda Reynaga led all players with 26 digs, her second highest dig total on the year. Freshman Hayden Siebenaler tallied seven block assists and three kills in the losing effort for the Blue and Gold.
Trailing 2-0 entering the third set, Canisius' offense came alive as it hit .357 in the frame, highlighted by six kills from Isroff. Despite the Griffs strong play, Siena jumped out to an early 7-1 advantage before Canisius slowly chipped away throughout the set drawing even at 18-18 later in the set. From there, Canisius scored six of the next 10 points to take a slim two-point lead, but with the Blue and Gold holding set-point, the Saints answered back with a three-point rally to regain the lead. Thanks to a Siena service error, a Hannah Kos service ace and kill from Azoria Davis, Canisius took the third set, 27-25.
The fourth set saw similar back and forth play from both teams through the majority of the set. With the score tied at 21-21, Canisius found momentum on the power of kills from four different players, taking the fourth frame 28-26 to even the match at 2-2.
Early in the fifth set, back-to-back kills by Isroff and freshman Kenslie Warmbrodt pulled the Griffs within one point at 5-4, but Siena pulled away for good moments later thanks to a 7-0 run that put the Saints up 12-4. Siena scored three of the night's final four points to secure the victory, the team's first win at the Koessler Athletic Center since the 2019 season.
GAME NOTES
• After the Saints season series sweep, Siena boasts a 38-27 over the Golden Griffins in a series that dates back to the 1990 season.
• Despite tonight's loss, Canisius has won three of the last five matchups against Siena; all five matches ended in five sets.
• As a team, Canisius registered 10 service aces in the match. This marks the seventh time the Griffs have recorded double-digit aces this season.
• The Blue and Gold combined for 12 total blocks, which ties a season-high, a mark the team has reached three times this season.
• With Reynaga's 26-dig performance, she has recorded 20+ digs in two of the last three matches.
UP NEXT
Canisius plays its final home game of the season against Marist Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. The match will be streamed live on GGBN.
MORE THAN A GAME
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