FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University volleyball team swept visiting Marist in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action on Sunday afternoon, running its win streak to 12 matches. The Stags took the victory on George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall by set scores of 28-26, 25-18 and 25-14.
With their 12th consecutive win, the Stags improve to 18-5 overall and stay unbeaten in the MAAC at 11-0. Fairfield's 12 straight victories match last season's longest winning streak, and is the eighth run of 12 or more consecutive wins in program history.
“I was happy to see us step up as a team,” said Head Coach Todd Kress. “Marist is a good team and they played well, but we were up to the challenge today.”
Megan O'Sullivan had four blocks in the match, boosting her career total to 301. She is the sixth Stag to eclipse 300 career blocks, joining Katie Mann '10 and Natalie Barba '07 as the only three players to reach the milestone while playing their entire careers in the rally scoring era (2001-present).
On the offensive end, O'Sullivan sent home 10 kills on .571 hitting (10-2-14). Megan Theiller led the attack with 14 kills – swinging at a .379 clip – and Skyler Day hit .273 en route to her 13 finishers. Kaitlyn Fisher posted six kills on 10 errorless attempts, while Mayda Garcia and Nora Quinn each added one kill.
Manuela Nicolini and Sydney Buckley guided the Stags to a .365 team hitting percentage, distributing 24 and 14 assists, respectively. The effort marked the fifth time this season that Fairfield hit above the .350 mark as a unit. Nicolini also added one kill of her own from the setter spot.
O'Sullivan's four blocks led a performance at the net that included eight Stags' rejections. Nicolini elevated to get a hand in three send-backs, while Theiller, Fisher and Quinn were each part of two stuffs. In the back row, Mallory Bechtold posted 11 digs with Theiller and Day each adding six. All told, Fairfield's defensive showing limited Marist to a .103 hitting percentage.
Rounding out the scoring for the Stags, Theiller landed two service aces and Taylor Rudeen dealt one winner from the behind the line.
Mackenzie O'Brien and Megan Fergus had nine and eight kills, respectively, to lead the Red Fox offense. Marist (7-13, 7-3 MAAC) ran its offense through Amanda Schlegel to the tune of 22 assists, and Lexi Millington led all players with 13 digs from the libero spot.
The Stags are back in action next weekend for trips to Iona and Manhattan on Oct. 22-23. Fairfield swept the Gaels and Jaspers on their trips through Alumni Hall last month. MAAC play returns to George Bisacca Court the following weekend when Rider and Saint Peter's come to town on Oct. 29-30.
