Marist Volleyball Wins Third Straight Match

By Mike Ferraro

POUGHKEEPSIE – Marist volleyball secured its third consecutive victory with a 3-0 victory over MAAC rival Siena on Saturday. The Red Foxes won 27-25, 25-23, 25-23.

Siena struck first, going on a 6-0 run to start off the match.

Trailing 15-6, the Red Foxes reeled off six straight points of their own, a stretch that included three aces by Jillian Hanna.

Marist took its first lead of the first set at 24-23 on an ace by Sasha van der Merwe. With the scored tied at 25, back-to-back kills by Jordan Newblatt ended the first set.

Siena jumped out to an early lead in set number two, but Marist took a 7-4 lead with five straight points.

Marist ran its lead to 16-11, but Siena tied the second set at 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23 all. The Red Foxes closed the set with two straight points, which included a kill by Newblatt and a Siena error.

Marist started the third set fast with a 6-2 lead, but Siena quickly rebounded to take a 12-9 advantage.

With the set tied at 20 all, Marist scored four straight points. Siena fended off three straight match points, but a kill by Newblatt ended it.

Hanna led the Red Foxes with a career-high five service aces, and added 11 digs.

Newblatt had a match-high 15 kills. Gabriella Heimbauer had 13 and hit .300.

Marist had nine aces and three service errors; Siena had three aces and 10 service errors.

Olga Sawinska had 12 kills and hit .409 for the Saints, who received six blocks from Abby Huffman.

Marist is now 12-9 overall and 7-3 in the MAAC. The Red Foxes have won three straight and seven out of eight.

Marist will wrap up its four-match homestand when first-place Fairfield visits McCann Arena on Thursday at 7 p.m.