LIVONIA, Mich. -- The Siena Heights women's volleyball team was eliminated from the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) tournament after a 3-1 loss to top-seeded Madonna in the semifinal round.
Three Saints finished with double-digit kills, led by Aline Marinelo, with 13 kills with a .520 hitting percentage. Janel Ruhlman also had 13 kills, while Autumn Anderson tallied ten kills. Olivia Norman was a force at the net with nine kills and eight blocks. Aubrey Bates paced play with 47 assists and 14 digs for another double-double. Payton Osborne had 16 digs, while Kadie Carsten and Alli Conly each added 11.
Neither team was able to pull away in the first half of the opening frame as the score was tied six times. Madonna's back-to-back points gave the home team a 19-16 lead and forced the Saints to burn a timeout. Two more points from the Crusaders out of the break completed a 4-0 run and gave them the largest lead of the match to that point at 21-16. With a 23-18 lead, Madonna recorded a kill to earn a set point before another kill gave them the 1-0 lead.
The second set was closer than the first as the score was tied nine times to 13 points. Norman took charge with a kill and back-to-back blocks to put Siena ahead 16-13 as the Saints maintained that lead for the remainder of the set to earn a 25-22 win and tie the score up at one game apiece.
The third stanza followed the theme of the set before as the teams tied 16 times into extra points before things were settled. A service ace gave the Crusaders the first match point before a kill by Bates knotted things back up at 24. The score would again tie at 25 following an attack error on both sides. Madonna's two kills ended the set 27-25, and the home team jumped ahead 2-1.
Siena Heights surrendered an 11-7 lead after a 4-0 run by the Crusaders knotted the score up. The teams traded points up to a 15-15 deadlock. The score would tie again at 17 and 19. Madonna pulled away by two points before the Saints cut the deficit in half, 21-20. Three straight points by the Crusaders gave them the set, and match, point. Bates got a kill to spark a 3-0 run for SHU as the score sat at 24-23, as Madonna called a timeout. The next rally resulted in a kill by Madonna as the team survived the Saints in four.
Season Wrap Up
The Saints finish the year with a 19-9 overall record and a 13-7 mark in league play. Eleven Saints earned WHAC awards highlighted by Aubrey Bates becoming the first-ever WHAC Setter of the Year in SHU women's volleyball history.
