Box Score FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Alumni Hall hosted Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference volleyball for the first time in 2015 on Saturday afternoon as Fairfield University hosted in-state foe Quinnipiac. Led by 17 kills from Skyler Day and nine in the middle off the swing of Sydney Williams, the Stags dispatched the Bobcats in straight sets by scores of 25-12, 25-20 and 25-13.
Fairfield (5-7, 1-2 MAAC) hit at a cumulative .282 clip. Day guided the effort on the outside with 17 kills, which matched her career high, and .600 hitting percentage (17-2-25). She added a solid defensive performance with eight digs and two blocks.
In the middle, Williams posted nine kills on 14 errorless swings to record a scorching .643 hitting percentage. She was also a part of two Fairfield blocks, as the Stags racked up a five send-backs in the three-set sweep.
Megan Theiller added nine kills for the Stags, and Kaitlyn Fisher contributed six off the bench. Rounding out the Fairfield attack were Oyinkansola Akinola with four kills, Chanel Cooper with three, and one finisher apiece for Hadley Orr and Nora Quinn.
The offense was run through the combination of Sydney Buckley and Kiley Lingenfelter, who doled out 24 and 20 assists, respectively.
In the back row, libero Taylor Rudeen led the effort with a match-best 21 digs. Theiller added 12 digs as Fairfield limited the Bobcats (1-13, 0-3 MAAC) to a .069 hitting percentage.
The Stags also scored a season-best 10 points from the serving game, led by four aces from Theiller and three dropped in by Lingenfelter. Day, Rudeen and Mallory Bechtold also each landed a winner for Fairfield.
One run was the deciding factor in the opening set. After Quinnipiac claimed an early 7-4 lead, the Stags struck back with 16 consecutive points to take a commanding 20-7 advantage. Four kills from Day and three from Williams led the attack during the stretch, while Theiller kept the Bobcats on their heels from behind the service line. After the run came to a close, the Stags maintained their control of the action and coasted to a 25-12 win.
Quinnipiac once again took the early advantage in the second frame, winning six of the first seven rallies to induce a quick Fairfield timeout. The Stags' comeback in this frame didn't feature one extended run but saw the Stags consistently post two- and three-point spurts that culminated with a 16-13 Fairfield advantage. After the Bobcats rallied to knot the set at 18-18, back-to-back kills from Theiller staked the Stags to a 20-18 lead they wouldn't relinquish en route to a 25-20 triumph.
The Stags led wire-to-wire in the final set, scoring the first three points and never looking back. Only once did Fairfield surrender consecutive Quinnipiac points as the lead continued to grow to an eventual 25-13 final to close out the 3-0 sweep.
Prior to the match, Fairfield recognized Head Coach Todd Kress for reclaiming the program's all-time wins record earlier this fall. Today's victory marked his 118th on the Fairfield sidelines – he broke previous coach Alija Pittenger's mark of 113 with the Stags' first win of the season back on August 29. Kress previous held the record when he amassed 94 wins during his tenure from 1995-98, a stretch that included two MAAC Championships and NCAA postseason trips as well as three MAAC Coach of the Year honors.
Today's contest began a three-match homestand for Fairfield. The Stags continue MAAC play on Oct. 3-4 when Saint Peter's and Rider visit Alumni Hall.
