Box Score

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The top-seeded Fairfield University volleyball team downed fourth-seeded Niagara University, 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-20, 25-21), this afternoon at Alumni Hall to advance to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championship final.
 
The Stags (21-8), winners of nine consecutive matches, will face rival Siena College, the tournament's number two seed, in tomorrow's MAAC Championship final set for 1pm in Alumni Hall. Fairfield will appear in the MAAC Championship final for the second consecutive year.
 
Fairfield was paced by senior Brianna Dixion who logged 17 kills and 17 for her fifth double-double of the season. Sophomore Caitlin Stapleton had 11 kills and three total blocks while junior Hayley Moyer had 10 kills on .364 hitting and six digs.
 
Junior Rachel Romansky, the 2012 MAAC Setter of the Year, notched 49 assists, seven digs, five kills, and two total blocks while rookie Maddie FitzPatrick came up big with a career-high eight kills on .571 hitting and five total blocks. Sophomore Marilyn Peizer chipped in with four kills.
 
Defensively, sophomore Carsen Mata tied a career best with a match-high 25 digs. Senior Kara Reis had 10 digs while sophomore Camille Coffey added eight digs and five kills.
 
Fairfield came out strong in the first set, surging out to an 18-10 lead. Niagara (15-14) did not back down, pulling within 22-21 on a kill by Taylor Edmonds. Dixion stopped the Purple Eagles with a kill and the Stags took advantage of back-to-back attack errors for the 25-21 win.
 
In the second set, there were nine ties. With the score resting at 17-17, Niagara used a quick 3-0 run to open up a lead. Coffey pulled the Stags within 22-21 but the Purple Eagles closed out the set on a 3-1 run. The Stags regrouped in the third set and hit a collective .325. Fairfield took an early 7-3 lead on a kill by FitzPatrick and that is all the breathing room they would need in the 25-20 win.
 
In the fourth set, Niagara seemed to have control after opening up a 16-10 gap on a kill by Ellen Senf. But, a block by Stapleton and Moyer on the next point shifted the momentum. Mata then stepped to the line and served six consecutive points which included a kill by Dixion that gave Fairfield a 17-16 lead. With the score tied at 18-18, an attack error by the Purple Eagles put the Stags on top. FitzPatrick followed with a kill and then a solo block to extend the lead to 21-18. Niagara would later pull within 22-21, but the Stags rattled off three straight points for the 25-21 win.
 
The Stags out-blocked the Purple Eagles, 7-3, on the day. For Niagara, Kari Honomichl, the 2012 MAAC Player of the Year, finished with 19 kills and 18 digs.