Box Score

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – The Fairfield University volleyball team was edged by Hofstra University 3-0 (26-28, 20-25, 23-25) this evening in a tight non-conference contest.

 

Senior Lauren Hughes (Costa Mesa, Calif.) had nine kills for the Stags while junior Haililani Pokipala (Honolulu, Hawaii) had seven.Junior Alex Lopez (Fort Collins, Colo.) tallied 15 digs while freshman Rachel Romansky (Denver, Colo.) had 23 assists.

 

There were 21 ties and nine lead changes during the match. The first set was a back and forth battle between the two squads. Hofstra (6-11) was leading 24-23 when sophomore Brianna Dixion (Long Beach, Calif.) came up with a big kill to hold off set point. With the score tied 25-25, freshman Hayley Moyer (Riverside, Calif.) gave Fairfield the lead with a kill but back-to-back errors by the Stags returned the lead to Hofstra. The Pride's Nikki Kinnier then closed out the set with a kill to give Hofstra the 28-26 win.

 

Fairfield led by as much as four points in the second set, but Hofstra chipped away at the lead pulling within 18-17 on kill by Kinnier. Pokipala delivered consecutive kills to make the score 20-17 but a kill by Ayesha Hein sparked an 8-0 run for the Pride in the 25-20 win.

 

Hofstra carried that momentum into the third set, taking a 6-0 lead. The Stags did not back down using an 8-1 run to tie the score 19-19 on an ace by Lopez. Two straight kills gave Hofstra the lead, but the two teams would tie again at 23-23. After a Stags service error gave the Pride the lead, Hofstra closed out the match with a block.

Hofstra hit .161 for the match while Fairfield hit .061. The Pride held an 8-2 advantage in blocks while the Stags held a 9-3 advantage in service aces. Sophomore Kara Reis (Ramona, Calif.) had four of those aces while Pokipala had three.

Fairfield (3-10) will play its first home match of the season on September 25 as it hosts Manhattan at 2pm at Alumni Hall. The Stags then travel to Siena on September 26.