AUSTIN, Texas – The Fairfield University volleyball team shined brightly on the national stage, hanging tough for three sets with the University of Texas in the NCAA Championship First Round on Thursday evening in Gregory Gym. Before a crowd of 1,898 and a television audience on ESPN's Longhorn Network, the Stags battled the nation's third-ranked team before falling by set scores of 25-18, 25-18 and 25-17.

Fairfield wraps up its season as Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Champions with a record of 21-10. The Big 12 Champion Longhorns (26-2) advance to play No. 17 Purdue tomorrow for a berth in next weekend's regional – also to be held on their home court in Austin.

“I think our kids fought; we went out there and had a game plan and did some quality things, and I was very happy with our effort,” said Head Coach Todd Kress. “We didn't execute at all points, but I'm very happy with our effort and we just loved the opportunity.”

Skyler Day led the Fairfield offense with nine kills on .208 hitting. Her foil on the outside, Megan Theiller, sent home six kills in addition to a team-leading seven digs. Oyinkansola Akinola added four finishers, Megan O'Sullivan posted three and rookies Chanel Cooper and Kaitlyn Fisher each hammered two.

The attack was run through Sydney Buckley and Kiley Lingenfelter with 16 and nine assists, respectively. Lingenfelter also dumped over two kills of her own.

In addition to Theiller's seven digs, Mallory Bechtold added six from the back row, and Taylor Rudeen picked up five. At the net, Akinola had a hand in four of the Stags' five blocks. The defensive effort limited the Longhorns – ranked second in the nation with a .316 hitting percentage – to a .298 clip.

Big 12 Player of the Year Amy Neal had 14 kills to lead Texas as the match's only player in double figures. Chloe Collins doled out 36 assists, and Cat McCoy posted a match-best 14 digs.

The Stags led the first set, 4-3, fueled by kills from O'Sullivan and Day before the Longhorns reeled off a six-point run to take a lead that they would not relinquish. The margin grew to 18-11 before Fairfield fought back as two Day kills and a block from Akinola and Cooper highlighted a four-point surge to force a Texas timeout at 18-15. However, the Longhorns came out of the stoppage with four straight points en route to a 25-18 decision.

Fairfield fell behind, 5-1, in set two, before storming back to knot the frame at 7-7 and then claiming a 9-8 lead guided by two kills and a block by Akinola. The Stags led by as many as three points at 14-11 before the Longhorns put together an 11-1 stretch to power in front by a score of 22-15. The clubs traded the final six points of the set as Texas took a 2-0 lead with another 25-18 win.

In the third, Texas rattled off the first four points, and that margin was the difference for much of the frame. Fairfield hung tough, led by three Akinola kills and two from Theiller, but was unable to close that initial gap. The Longhorns' final surge completed the sweep as the hosts claimed a 25-17 win.

One of the youngest teams in the nation, the Stags roster boasted one junior, three sophomores and nine freshmen. 2015 marked the eighth MAAC Championship and conference-best eighth NCAA postseason trip – and third in the last four seasons – for Fairfield.