JERSEY CITY, N.J. – The Saint Peter's volleyball team (7-22, 2-16 MAAC) ended its 2025 season on Saturday at Run Baby Run Arena after being defeated by Siena (14-18, 9-9 MAAC) in four sets (24-26, 16-25, 25-21, 22-25). The Peacocks celebrated five seniors playing their last match for the blue and white.
The five Saint Peter's seniors,
Elena Bilhartz,
Sydney Kuzma,
Cleopatra Diakou,
Jaizahir Marrero George and
Liz Reyes Pagan all went out with a bang in Jersey City. Bilhartz finished the day with eight kills and six blocks as she surpassed 500 career kills during the match.
Marrero George saw a solid performance with seven kills and a block while Diakou, Kuzma and Reyes Pagan each notched at least eight digs. Diakou added 25 assists as well.
With the conclusion of the Siena match, Saint Peter's 2025 campaign came to a close on Saturday. It was another record-breaking year for head coach
Fernando Colon, who wrapped up his second season as head coach of the Peacocks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE: The Peacocks built an early advantage over the Saints after a kill by
Valeria Pagan Munoz put Saint Peter's up, 6-3. Later in the set, Marrero George dropped it in the gap of Siena's defense to make it 14-11. Four unanswered points by the Saints forced a Saint Peter's timeout as the Peacocks trailed, 15-16. Out of the timeout, SPU responded with a 4-0 run of its own to regain the lead at 19-16 and force a Siena timeout. The Peacocks and Saints traded points back-and-forth, but SPU still maintained a one-point lead, 23-22. After a Saint Peter's timeout, Siena tied things up at 23 all with a kill. The Saints went on to take set one, 26-24, with back-to-back kills.
SET TWO: The Saints jumped out to an 8-3 lead over the Peacocks, forcing Colon to call a timeout to talk things over. Saint Peter's fought to cut it to a 6-10 deficit, but Siena stayed in control. The Peacocks strung together three straight points late in the set to make it 15-23, but the Saints won set two, 25-16.
SET THREE: Early in set three, a powerful kill by
Karolina T. Rodriguez Mendez extended Saint Peter's lead to 9-6. As the set progressed, Rodriguez Mendez and Pagan Munoz continued to rack up kills, keeping the Peacocks up 19-12. Siena started to mount a comeback after capitalizing on several Saint Peter's errors. The Saints came within two, 20-22, with three straight kills, which forced an SPU timeout. Out of the break, the Peacocks recorded two kills before Bilhartz ended things with an ace as Saint Peter's took set three, 25-21.
SET FOUR: Both teams found themselves in a 3-3 tie to start the fourth and final set of the match. The tie continued all the way to 10-10 as the Peacocks elected to take their first timeout of the set. At the break, Saint Peter's was hitting .450 compared to Siena's .526 mark. Just when Saint Peter's was rolling, Siena started to gain some momentum with a 3-0 scoring run. The run made it just a three-point lead for the Peacocks, 22-19. Following an SPU timeout, Siena scored three more points to tie it at 22-22. The Saints finished it off with a kill to take set four, 25-22.
