ADRIAN, Mich. -- The Siena Heights women's volleyball team fell to Madonna 3-1 at home on Friday night. Aubrey Bates led the Saints with 36 assists and a .452 hitting percentage in the losing effort. 

THE BASICS

Final Score: Madonna 3, Siena Heights 1 (20-25, 25-17, 25-17, 25-22)

Location: Adrian, Michigan (SHU Fieldhouse)

Records: Madonna (10-4, 8-4 WHAC), Siena Heights (7-4, 7-4 WHAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Siena Heights jumped out to a 5-1 lead and built a 13-6 advantage in the first set and never looked back to gain the 1-0 advantage early in the match. 

The Crusaders rallied in the second game and used a 4-0 run to gain a 17-13 lead on the way to a 25-17 decision and tie the score at 1-all.

The third game started with a 7-4 lead for Madonna. That edge grew to 16-8 before the Crusader ended it with a 25-17 win to take a 2-1 lead in the set-score. 

The Saints battled in the fourth, tying the score on multiple occasions before taking a 21-19 lead. Madonna used a 3-0 run to gain a 22-21 edge and forced a SHU timeout. A kill by Madonna out of the break put things at 23-21 and the Crusaders scored two of the final three points to take the match 3-1.

Siena hit well in sets one and four with .290 and .154 respectively. In the middle sets, they hit zero as Madonna's defense held them off.

TOP SAINTS

• Bates completed six kills and six digs on her stat line to help lead the Saints in the loss.

• Janel Ruhlman had a team-high 12 kills. She also helped defensively with three digs and three blocks.

• Karsyn Wolf finished with 10 digs to lead the defense.

• Katelyn Ferris was the anchor at the net with four blocks.

THE OPPOSITION

• Jodie Kelly finished with 28 kills.

• Olivia Sweeney had 20 digs.

UP NEXT

The Saints hit the road tomorrow (Saturday, March 13) to face Indiana Tech at 2:00 p.m., EST. That match is the first of three-straight away from home.