Box Score

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University volleyball team extended its home winning streak to 14 matches with a 3-0 (27-25, 25-23, 25-12) victory over Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) foe Siena College this afternoon at Alumni Hall.

 

Junior Haililani Pokipala (Honolulu, Hawaii) had her sixth double-double of the season with a match-high 12 kills on .357 hitting to go along with 12 digs. Sophomore Brianna Dixion (Long Beach, Calif.) was also in double-digits with 10 kills on .304 hitting. Dixion also added two blocks.

 

Fairfield (8-13; 7-3 MAAC) out-blocked Siena (4-15; 3-7 MAAC) by a margin of 7.0 to 1.5 on the day. Junior Bethany Steiger (Cary, Ill.) led the way with a career-high five total blocks while freshman Rachel Romansky (Denver, Colo.) had a career-best three total blocks. Romansky also added 29 assists, four digs, and four kills.

 

The Stags opened up a 22-18 lead in the first set but the Saints responded with a 5-0 run to overtake Fairfield, 23-22. With the scored tied 24-24, Colleen Ahearn gave Siena the lead but they could not close it out as a Saints service error retied the frame. Another costly error by Siena gave the Stags the 26-25 lead while Pokipala put the set away with a kill.

 

Siena took a 19-16 lead in the second set, but Fairfield did not back down. The Stags stormed back, helped by Saints attack errors, to tie the set 20-20. After exchanging points, another Siena attack error gave Fairfield the lead to stay. A solo block by Romansky made it a 23-21 game and the Stags held on for the 25-23 win.

 

Fairfield could not be stopped in the third stanza, hitting a collective .500. The Stags surged out to the 7-2 lead to prompt a Siena timeout. After the break, Fairfield extended its lead to 14-5 forcing Siena to call its second time out. The Stags added three more points before a service error broke up the string of six unanswered points. Fairfield cruised to the 25-12 win.

 

Sophomore Kara Reis (Ramona, Calif.) finished with 13 digs for the Stags, one of which was the 700th of her career. For the Saints, Brianne Bobo had a double-double with 28 assists and 13 digs. Libero Lesli Akeo had nine digs while Taylor Akana managed nine kills.

 

Fairfield takes a break from MAAC play on October 20 and travels to Fordham. The Stags will resume MAAC play in Alumni Hall on October 23 against Iona.