Box Score

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University volleyball team won their third-straight match by defeating Dartmouth College 3-1 (25-17, 25-20, 21-25, 25-18) on the opening day of play at the Sacred Heart Hampton Inn Shelton Invitational. Senior Brianna Dixion posted 12 kills on the day to become the 11th Stag in program history to record 1,000 career kills.
 
Dixion, who became the first Stag to earn the distinction since Katie Mann in 2009, currently has 1,003 kills in 98 career matches.
 
Sophomore Marilyn Peizer led all hitters with a career-high 15 kills on .393 hitting on the day. Junior Rachel Romansky recorded her third double-double of the season, finishing with 49 assists and a season-high 14 digs along with a season-high seven kills and three total blocks. With her assists, Romansky brought her career total to 2,609 to surpass former Stag Barbie Thistle for fourth all-time at Fairfield.
 
Junior Hayley Moyer had a season-high 12 kills on .400 hitting while freshman Maddie FitzPatrick finished with five total blocks and three kills, both season highs for the middle blocker. Freshman Nicole Marzik added nine digs and eight kills, just missing a double-double.
 
Dixion powered the Stags offense in the first frame with six kills on .750 hitting. Fairfield pulled away from Dartmouth, 13-7, a block by FitzPatrick and Romansky. They later extended their lead to 18-12 on an ace by senior Stephanie Cruz to prompt a Big Green timeout. Fairfield continued their run out of the break, taking a 24-16 advantage after Dixion slammed home pass from Romansky. The Stags went on to win the set 25-17.
 
In the second set, the Big Green led early but the Stags chipped away. After a Dartmouth attack error gave Fairfield an 11-10 lead, Carsen Mata and Peizer posted back-to-back kills for a three-point advantage. The Stags used the momentum and surged out to 22-14 lead as FitzPatrick and Romansky capped off a 12-4 run with a block. The Big Green used a late run to cut the deficit to 23-20 and force a Fairfield timeout. A block by FitzPatrick and Peizer after the timeout stopped the run while Peizer ended the set, 25-20, with a kill.
 
Dixion started the third set with her 1,000th kill, dropping in a set from Romansky to give the Stags the 1-0 lead. The two teams proceeded to go point-for-point in much of the frame. With the scored tied 18-18, Moyer dropped in a shot to give the Stags lead and then stepped to the line and delivered an ace for a 20-18 advantage. Dartmouth changed the momentum, recording three-straight points to overtake the Stags 21-20. Alex Schoenberger helped the Big Green shake off an attack error with consecutive kills and a block to return the lead to 24-21. A Fairfield error on the next play ended the frame and forced a fourth set.
 
Fairfield regrouped in the fourth set opening up a 15-12 lead on a blast by Peizer. The Stags retained the momentum opening up a 20-15 lead on a tap by Moyer. After combining with Moyer on a block, sophomore Camille Coffey delivered a cross-court kill to put the Stags ahead, 22-15. Fairfield held off Dartmouth the rest of the way for the 25-18 win.
 
Mata finished the day with nine digs while Cruz chipped in with a season-high nine digs. Senior Kara Reis finished with 14 digs and tied a career-high five assists. Reis moved into fourth all-time at Fairfield in career digs with 1,497. She is less than 100 digs away from third all-time and is approaching the program record of 1,674 which was set in 2007 by Lindsey Lee.
 
Fairfield (3-5) continues action at the SHU Invitational tomorrow, September 8. The Stags face Central Florida at 10am followed by Sacred Heart at 5pm.