Box Score


FAIRFIELD, Conn. - The Fairfield University volleyball team rallied to defeat Rider University 3-2 (27-29, 25-18, 20-25, 25-20, 15-12) this afternoon in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) action at Alumni Hall.

Senior Rachel Romansky was one kill shy of a triple-double for the Stags. The setter finished with 47 assists, 13 digs, and a career-best nine kills on .471 hitting. Romansky also brought her career dig total to 987, inching closer to the 1,000 career dig milestone.

Juniors Marilyn Peizer and Caitlin Stapleton recorded 14 kills apiece. Peizer added six digs and two total blocks while Stapleton tallied a season-high six total blocks and three digs. Sophomore Hadley Orr registered a career-high 13 kills with seven digs and three total blocks.

Red-shirt senior Carsen Mata recorded 22 digs and four assists while freshman Bella Guanciale posted 14 digs and a career-best seven assists. Junior Camille Coffey added eight digs, including the 600th of her career.

Junior Lindsay Weaver tied a career-high with seven total blocks to go along with eight kills and four digs. Senior Hayley Moyer had nine kills, four digs, and two block assists.

Fairfield was trailing 23-20 in the first set when Peizer found an empty spot in the back row to place a kill. After a Rider attack error, Weaver and Stapleton came through with a huge block to tie things up at 23-23. With the score tied at 27-27, Ryan Ackermann delivered a kill to give the Broncs the lead. McKayla Huntley and Kayla Wong blocked the final Fairfield attack of the set for the 29-27 win.

The Stags trailed 9-7 in the second frame when a block by Orr and Weaver sparked a 10-1 run. Rider closed the gap to 19-18 but Peizer answered with a kill while Romansky served out the set for the 25-18 victory. In the third set, the Broncs used an 11-0 run midway through the stanza to run away with a 25-20 win.

The fourth set featured nine ties and five lead changes. After Fairfield opened up a three-point lead, a late effort by the Broncs pulled them within 21-20. A kill by Romansky shifted momentum while Orr served the final three points of the set to lift the Stags to the 25-20 win and force a deciding game.

In the fifth set, the Stags were trailing 7-4 when a kill by Moyer began to swing momentum. After a Rider attack error, Moyer made it 7-7 as she slammed down a Rider overpass. Orr then gave Fairfield the 8-7 lead as she dropped a kill in the back row. After the Broncs tied it, 8-8, the Stags rattled off three unanswered points to gain some breathing room. Rider rallied late, pulling within 13-12 on a kill by Ackermann, but Fairfield countered with kills from Peizer and Orr for the 15-12 victory.

Rider (10-5; 2-3 MAAC) out-blocked the Stags, 16.0-10.5 on the day. Fairfield, however, held an 81-64 advantage in digs and a 69-53 advantage in kills. Two Broncs had double-doubles as Jaclyn Webber finished with a match-high 15 kills and 10 digs while Ashlee Amatulli had 25 assists and 11 digs. Ackermann had 13 kills and nine digs.

With the win, Head Coach Alija Pittenger brings her career total to 99.

Fairfield (5-11; 3-3 MAAC) continues MAAC action in Alumni Hall beginning with Marist College on October 9 at 7pm.