Tough losses always sting. So coming off a five-set battle with a top-ranked Marist squad on Saturday, the Quinnipiac volleyball team rallied behind its seniors to down Siena in four sets.

As Pop Smoke echoed through the Burt Kahn court, the Bobcats, 7-8 in conference play, built off that energy to fire the ball all over the gym during warmups, something that carried over into the game.

After falling behind 1-0 in the first set on a miscommunication in the front row, Quinnipiac scored six of the next seven points behind the play of senior middle blocker Nicole Legg at the net. Legg recorded two kills and a block assist in the seven-point run.

Down six at the halfway point of the set, Siena tried to claw back into the game, but the Bobcats’ attack kept it at bay, maintaining their lead into a late Saints’ timeout. Legg led Quinnipiac out of the break in action, setting the tone with her third kill of the set before driving the ball into Siena’s half of the court to take the 1-0 lead overall.

The second set wouldn’t be quite as cut and dry. Poor communication and errors by the Bobcats caused them to fall behind early, making head coach Kyle Robinson visibly upset on the sideline.

Quinnipiac battled back though, taking a 15-4 lead after being down by as many as four points, forcing Siena to take yet another timeout in an attempt to spark their offense, which, if anything, served to the opposite effect. The Bobcats extended their lead to four as they closed in on 25 points, sealing a set victory as Legg stuffed Saints senior middle blocker Maddy Dunigan above the net.

Legg continued her strong play into the third set, responsible for four of Quinnipiac’s first eight points. During this stretch, a teammate shouted “it’s too easy” at her as the Bobcats took an 8-5 lead.

Siena took offense to that, roaring back with an offensive surge to take the lead at 20-19 late in the third. It held off the home team 25-22 to cut Quinnipiac’s set lead to one.

Riding high from their first set win since Oct. 31, the Saints fired on all cylinders to start the fourth set, quickly jumping out to a 10-6 lead with a four-point run.

Siena began to cool down over the next few minutes however, with two back-to-back unforced errors allowing Quinnipiac to tie the game. The game stayed even for the next few points until a kill from senior outside hitter Maggie Baker gave the Bobcats a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Winning every play at the net, Quinnipiac went on a seven-point run behind several more kills from Baker and fellow junior outside hitter Aryanah Diaz to put the game out of reach.

Siena only scored two more points the rest of the game, as senior right side hitter Georgia Tselepi earned the final kill to claim victory for the Bobcats 25-16 and 3-1 overall.

Tselepi, along with Diaz, Baker and Legg, all recorded double-digit kills for Quinnipiac in the final home game of their career for three of the four, as they improved to 9-15 overall and 8-8 in MAAC play.

The Bobcats hit the road to wrap up regular season action this coming weekend, meeting Manhattan on Saturday before facing Iona the following afternoon with postseason seeding still up for grabs.\