FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University volleyball team fell to Canisius College 3-1 (18-25, 23-25, 25-16, 14-25) this afternoon at Alumni Hall. Senior Lauren Hughes (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and sophomore Brianna Dixion (Long Beach, Calif.) each had double-digit kills for the Stags.

 

Hughes posted a match-high 11 kills on .310 hitting while Dixion added 10 kills and four total blocks. Junior Haililani Pokipala (Honolulu, Hawaii) chipped in with nine kills and nine digs, just missing a double-double. Junior Kendal Dirkin (Oak Park, Ill.) added seven kills on .455 hitting and four total blocks.

 

Freshman Rachel Romansky (Denver, Colo.) finished the day with 43 assists, five digs, and five kills. Defensively, sophomore Kara Reis (Ramona, Calif.) had 13 digs while junior Lauren Balmert (Cranberry Twp., Pa.) had 12 digs.

 

The Stags (10-16; 9-5 MAAC) had an early lead in the first set, but Canisius (14-13; 10-5 MAAC) went on a 4-0 run to overtake Fairfield, 13-12. The Stags responded and took a 14-13 lead, but the Griffs rattled off four straight points to regain the advtantage. Pokipala stopped the run with a kill, but Canisius held on for the 25-18 win.

 

Canisius got down early in the second set but used a 4-1 spurt to take the 14-11 lead. Fairfield battled back tying the score, 16-16, on a kill by rookie Hayley Moyer (Riverside, Calif.). With the scored tied 22-22 late in the frame, Hughes gave Fairfield the lead with a kill and prompted a Canisius timeout. After the break, the Griffs' Layne Adams tied the set with a kill and Renee Lettow followed with one of her own for the 24-23 lead. Adams then put the set away with a solo block.

 

The third set belonged to Fairfield as the Stags hit .440 while holding Canisius to a .074 attack percentage. The Stags surged out a 10-4 lead to start the stanza taking all momentum away from Canisius. Fairfield never had to look back in the 25-16 win.

 

In the fourth set, Canisius' Danielle Brawn served eight-straight points to start the frame to give the Griffs the lead. Dixion stopped the run with a kill, but the Stags could not recover, falling 25-14.

 

The victory was Canisius' first-ever against the Stags in Alumni Hall. The loss also marked the first time since 1992 in which Fairfield has lost back-to-back matches to a MAAC opponent at home. In addition, the five MAAC losses are the most for Fairfield since the 1995 season when the Stags went 1-6 in league play.

 

Fairfield looks to get back on track next weekend, travelling to Manhattan on November 6 and hosting Loyola on November 7. Prior to next Sunday's match, Fairfield will honor its senior class.