Box Score FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Megan Theiller was named to the Fairfield Invitational All-Tournament Team after posting her third double-double of the weekend on Saturday evening against New Hampshire. The Stags were clipped by the visiting Wildcats, 3-1, in the final contest of the nine-match event from Alumni Hall.
Theiller's double-double consisted of 16 kills and 13 digs complemented by two service aces and a solo block. For the tournament, she ranked fifth in kills with 3.62 per set, fourth in points at 4.31 per set and fifth in hitting percentage at .258. All three figures led the Stags in their three matches on the weekend. Fairfield defeated Holy Cross and Boston College in Day 1 action on Friday.
Overall, it was a solid weekend. The three matches provided is the opportunity to play against three very different systems and our kids responded well to the different looks,” said Head Coach Todd Kress. “I'm proud of the play of our freshmen this weekend, who stepped up their level of play drastically from last weekend. We are quickly realizing our strengths and, maybe more importantly, figuring out the areas that need attention in order to take the next step as a team. We are all optimistic about the long-term future for this team.”
On Saturday, the Stags (3-3) also got 14 kills from Skyler Day on the outside and seven in the middle off the swing of Megan O'Sullivan. Fairfield hit at a cumulative .142 clip in the four-set contest. The offense was run through the duo of Kiley Lingenfelter and Sydney Buckley, who handed out 18 and 17 assists respectively.
Defensively, Mallory Bechtold led all players with 23 digs from the libero spot – a new career standard for the rookie. Lingenfelter and Day each chipped in with eight from the back row.
At the net, O'Sullivan had a hand in four of Fairfield's eight team blocks. Freshmen Sydney Williams Chanel Cooper were each a part of three Stags' send-backs.
New Hampshire – the lone team to emerge at 3-0 in the weekend – improved to 5-2 overall with the win. The defending America East Champion Wildcats previously bested Holy Cross and Marshall in the Fairfield Invitational.
Tori Forrest, who represented UNH on the All-Tournament Team, recorded 10 kills and 16 digs on Saturday. Demi Muses led all players with 19 kills on .405 hitting (19-2-42) and just missed a double-double with nine digs. Keelin Severtson handed out 43 assists, and Madison Lightfoot matched Forrest with 16 digs.
The Wildcats went on the first run of the match with a five-point spurt to take an early 8-3 advantage in the first set. The Stags would not allow another extended run by the visitors in the frame, but the early cushion withstood the Fairfield attack as the Wildcats took the set by a score of 25-21.
The Stags found their rhythm in the second set, with Lingenfelter and Buckley spreading the ball around to facilitate Fairfield's strongest offensive frame of the match. Six different Stags recorded kills in the set, including three from Chanel Cooper and four from Theiller. Cooper was also a part of two blocks – one with Williams and one alongside O'Sullivan. The Stags never allowed UNH to put more than two points together during the frame en route to a 25-13 win to even the match at 1-1.
New Hampshire responded in the pivotal third set, opening up an early 11-3 advantage. The Stags would briefly climb back to within three points at 14-11, but the Wildcats promptly came out of a timeout with a 6-0 stretch to extend the lead back to 20-11. New Hampshire would close on the frame by a count of 25-15 to take a 2-1 edge in the match.
Set four featured the most back-and-forth action of the match with 12 ties and six lead changes. The final deadlock came at 19-19 on a Williams kill before UNH rattled off three consecutive winners to take a 22-19 lead. A kill from Day and a Bechtold ace cut the lead back to one point, but the Wildcats won back-to-back rallies to earn a match-point chance at 24-21. Kills from O'Sullivan and Day thwarted UNH's first two chances to end the match, but the visitors cashed in on the third to close out the contest with a 25-23 decision.
Another weekend tournament awaits the Stags on Sept. 11-12 in Philadelphia. Fairfield will visit the historic Palestra to meet tournament host Penn as well as Towson and Delaware State at the Crowne Plaza Philadelphia West Penn Invitational. That three-match event will be Fairfield's final tune-up before MAAC play begins on Sept. 19-20 at Niagara and Canisius.
