LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. – The top-seeded Fairfield University volleyball team successfully defended its Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championship title by toppling second-seeded Marist College, 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-15) in the finals this afternoon. It is the seventh MAAC Championship crown for the Stags.

Senior Rachel Romansky  was named the MAAC Championship Most Outstanding Player, earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team for the fourth consecutive year. Joining her on the MAAC All-Tournament Team was senior Hayley Moyer and junior Caitlin Stapleton.

 Moyer had an errorless day, posting 10 kills on .526 hitting with a block while Stapleton posted 10 kills on .500 hitting and four total blocks. Romansky posted 34 assists, two kills and two digs in the final. Junior Marilyn Peizer added 10 kills and six digs.

Red-shirt senior Carsen Mata posted 15 digs while junior Camille Coffey had 10 digs. Freshman Bella Guanciale had seven digs. Sophomore Maddie FitzPatrick and sophomore Hadley Orr posted six kills apiece. FitzPatrick had six total blocks while Orr notched five digs.

Fairfield (19-12) took a 9-5 lead in the first set on an ace by Coffey to force a Marist timeout. The Red Foxes pulled within two points several times, but the Stags were able to push its lead back to four points each time. Fairfield later received back-to-back kills from FitzPatrick and Stapleton to make the score 16-11 and prompt another Marist timeout. The Red Foxes narrowed the gap to 17-15 on a kill by Liz Gassman to force a Stags timeout. Fairfield went on an 8-1 run out of the timeout to roll to the 25-16 victory. Fairfield hit .459 for the set, converting 20 of its 37 attempts for kills with just three errors.

Fairfield trailed 6-5 in the second set when a kill by Peizer sparked a 6-1 run for the Stags. Mata capped off the run with an ace to give Fairfield the 11-7 lead. The Stags pushed its lead to 16-11 on a kill by Peizer but the Red Foxes cut the gap to 16-13 on a Fairfield blocking error. The Stags countered with an 8-0 run to push the lead to 11 points. After the Red Foxes held off set point, a Marist service error sent Fairfield off with the 25-14 win. Fairfield hit .320 for the frame while holding Marist to an attack percentage of -.071.

With the score tied 5-5 in the third set, Fairfield rattled off four consecutive points to gain some ground. Marist cut the deficit to 12-10 but committed a service error to swing momentum back to Fairfield. The Stags opened up an 18-12 lead on a kill by Moyer to prompt a Marist timeout. Out of the timeout, Stapleton delivered a cross-court kill to extend the lead to seven points. It was too much for the Red Foxes as the Stags cruised to the 25-15 win.

Fairfield out-blocked Marist 7-3. The Stags hit .372 for the match while the Red Foxes hit .092.

Fairfield will await its NCAA Tournament fate as the official selection show will be held December 1 at 9:30pm on ESPNU.