NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The Iona College volleyball team travelled to the home of the defending MAAC champions Saturday afternoon. The Siena Saints got the better of the Gaels, sweeping the contest, 22-25, 11-25, 15-25.
The Gaels knotted the score with the Saints twice in the first set, including in the closing moments at 22. The second set was highlighted by a 10-3 run for Siena, where they opened up an 18-8 lead on way to their most decisive set victory.
The Maroon and Gold fell in the third set in similar fashion to the previous; an early dominant 9 to 1 run game the Saints an early 14-5 lead from which they never looked back from.
As a team, the Gaels worst set in terms of kill percentage was actually the first of the match. Both Iona and Siena had a poor mark of below 10% during the opening frame.
Freshmen Claire Archibald and Amanda Gannon let Iona with six kills apiece. Senior Natalie Ziskin had 15 assists on the day, and freshman Jessica Paolucci let the Gaels with 14 digs.
For the Saints, junior Brianna Flagg let all players with 17 kills on 31 attempts, and sophomore Samantha Pethokoukis was a defensive force with five blocks.
Iona next match is tomorrow, Sep. 20, at 1 P.M. against the defending MAAC Regular Season Champions, Marist.