FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University volleyball team took control of first place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference following a 3-1 win over Siena on Wednesday evening on George R. Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall. Following their eighth consecutive win, the Stags are one victory away of claiming at least a share of the MAAC regular season title and are the only remaining team to control their own destiny in the hunt for the top seed in the postseason.

Fairfield (17-9, 12-4 MAAC) took tonight's match by set scores of 25-19, 25-18, 24-26 and 25-23 to complete the season sweep of the defending conference champion Saints (16-11, 12-5 MAAC).

“The difference between these two teams is minimal,” said Head Coach Todd Kress. “Siena didn't play its best in the first two sets, but when they picked it up in the last two, you had two deuce point sets. And that's the way it should be between these two programs.”

In tonight's match, Fairfield was fueled by a strong performance at the net. The Stags totaled 14 blocks, with Oyinkansola Akinola getting a piece of a team-best eight rejections, to limit Siena to a .145 hitting percentage. Megan O'Sullivan had a hand in five Fairfield blocks, and Skyler Day and Sydney Buckley each had a hand in four stuffs.

Tonight's 14 blocks are the most by the Stags in a non-five-set match this season. Fairfield had 16 send-backs in the 3-2 win at Marist on Oct. 11 and 15 rejections in the five-set triumph over Sacred Heart on Oct. 23.

Offensively, Megan Theiller led the way with 15 kills and completed a double-double with 17 digs as a part of the defensive effort. Day also picked up a double-double on the outside with 14 kills and 10 digs. In the middle, O'Sullivan racked up 11 kills on .391 hitting (11-2-23) to help guide the Stags to a .224 attack percentage.

Akinola added nine kills on .364 hitting (9-1-22), and Chanel Cooper and Kaitlyn Fisher added four finishers apiece.

Sydney Buckley established a new career high in assists for the second straight match, dishing out 51 helpers to go along with a kill, six digs and four blocks for the sophomore setter.

“I thought Sydney was as good as I've seen her – especially in the first two sets – in running the offense and making good decisions,” said Kress. “We need her to continue this down the stretch, and tonight was a solid step forward for her.”

In the back row, the rookie tandem of Taylor Rudeen and Mallory Bechtold kept the Siena hitters at bay with 18 and 13 digs, respectively.

Siena was led by 21 kills and 11 digs from Briana Flagg. Haley Howell doled out 46 assists for the Saints, and Darby Taylor had a match-high 22 digs.

The Stags' home-and-home sweep of the Saints is Fairfield's first over Siena since 2012. The clubs split the pair of regular season meetings in both 2013 and 2014.

“We are thrilled to get a season sweep over a program that we have a lot of respect for,” Kress continued. “There is still a lot of work to be done, and we will buckle down over the next two days and prepare for a big weekend.”

The Stags can clinch a share of the MAAC regular season title with a win in either of the final two regular season outings this weekend as Manhattan and Iona visit Alumni Hall on Nov. 14 and 15. Fairfield would win the outright crown with a sweep of the Jaspers and Gaels.