NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – Four Stags posted double-doubles to lead the Fairfield University volleyball team to a 3-2 victory at Niagara on Sunday afternoon. The win marked the 18th straight for the Stags, who took the match by set scores of 20-25, 26-24, 28-26, 18-25 and 15-7.
Fairfield (24-5, 17-0 MAAC) entered the day sharing the nation's longest winning streak with Western Kentucky following a Saturday evening loss by Miami Ohio, which had won 20 straight matches. Today's five-set victory gives the Stags sole possession of Division I's longest active run at 18 matches. Fairfield has also won 28 consecutive contests against Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opponents, which is one of the longest active streaks against conference foes in the nation.
"I give a lot of credit to Niagara today," said Fairfield head coach Todd Kress. "I thought they established the tone early with their defensive intensity. Their libero (Rylee Hunt) was great today, and they fed off of that energy."
"I'm also very proud of my team," Kress continued. "There were numerous times today that we could have buckled, but we stayed steady and dug deep for even more. I have never been more proud to be the coach of this group of young women. It was a well-played match on both sides and fun to be a part of."
After dropping the first set this afternoon, the Stags were faced with a 1-0 deficit for the first time since falling behind 2-0 on Sept. 14 in the eventual five-set victory over St. John's that marked the first win of their current 18-match winning streak.
Leading the quartet of Stags to post a double-double this afternoon was Skyler Day with a career- and –match-high 24 kills to go along with 16 digs. Also on the outside, Megan Theiller slammed home 19 kills with 12 digs. Both players record a double-double for the second consecutive match, notching their eighth and 12th of the year, respectively.
Manuela Nicolini achieved the second double-double of her freshman campaign, handing out 42 assists as the pilot of the Fairfield offense and contributing 15 digs to the defensive effort. Both numbers mark new career standards for the rookie setter.
In the middle, Megan O'Sullivan picked up her first double-double of 2016 with 11 kills and a season-high 10 blocks. O'Sullivan was also the last Stag to post 10 blocks in a match, doing so on Nov. 22, 2014 in the Stags' season finale – a 3-2 win over Manhattan.
Also contributing to the attack today were Kaitlyn Fisher and Mayda Garcia with three kills apiece and Nora Quinn with one finisher. In addition to her work as the facilitator of the offense, which hit .209 of the match, Nicolini registered three kills of her own.
Fairfield's defensive effort was led by 22 digs from Mallory Bechtold from the libero spot. Taylor Rudeen supplemented the back row with eight digs. At the net, O'Sullivan's 10 blocks led a 15-rejection performance by the Stag. Nicolini was a part of six send-backs, Theiller got a piece of five stuffs and Quinn had a hand in four of the Fairfield blocks.
Niagara, which has clinched a berth in the MAAC Championship, falls to 11-17 overall and 9-7 in conference play. The Purple Eagles were led offensively by 22 kills from Madison May. Setter Alexis Gray had a double-double with 49 assists and 22 digs and, in the back row, Hunt led all players with 31 digs.
After a Nov. 9 trip to America East foe Stony Brook to continue the non-conference slate, Fairfield returns to George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall next weekend to conclude the regular season against in-state MAAC foe Quinnipiac on Nov. 12.
The 2016 MAAC Championship will bring the top six teams in the conference to Alumni Hall on Nov. 18-20. As the tournament's top seed and MAAC Regular Season Champion, Fairfield will first take the court in the postseason on Nov. 19 at 2 p.m. in the semifinal round. FairfieldStags.com will provide updated information regarding the MAAC Championship as it is finalized by the conference office in the coming weeks.
