FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University volleyball team posted a bounce-back win on Friday night on George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall as the Stags toppled visiting James Madison on day one of the Fairfield Invitational. Fairfield took an afternoon loss to Sacred Heart before knocking off the reigning co-champion of the CAA.
“It was a good rebound win for our team,” said Head Coach Todd Kress. “Moving forward, we need to understand what our foundation is and how vitally important that foundation is to the team and program.”
The Stags stand at 6-4 this fall after splitting today's action. James Madison, which won 22 matches en route to earning the top-seed in last fall's CAA Championship, drops to 6-3 after falling to Fairfield and Villanova today. Sacred Heart, which also took a loss to Villanova, stands at 3-5. Finally, the Wildcats are currently 5-3 as the only team to emerge unscathed from day one action.
The Fairfield Invitational wraps up tomorrow as James Madison meets Sacred Heart at 12:30 p.m. and the Stags host Villanova at 3 p.m.
Sacred Heart 3, Fairfield 0
In the first of two scheduled meetings between crosstown rivals this fall, Megan Theiller posted a double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs for the Stags. Skyler Day was just shy of matching her foil on the outside, recording 10 kills to go along with nine digs.
Megan O'Sullivan added six kills for Fairfield, with two apiece coming from Manuela Nicolini, Sydney Williams and Kaitlyn Fisher. Rounding out the attack were Oyinkansola Akinola and Nora Quinn, who each registered one kill.
The offense was run through the setting duo of Nicolini and Sydney Buckley, who each had 16 assists while piloting the Stags to a .151 hitting percentage.
In the back row, Theiller and Mallory Bechtold set the pace with 11 sigs apiece. Also on the defensive end, the Stags racked up eight blocks led by three apiece from O'Sullivan and Akinola. Day, Nicolini and Theiller each had a hand in two of Fairfield's eight rejections.
The Stags also accounted for four points from the serving game, with Day landing two aces while Tehiller and Taylor Rudeen each dropped in one winner.
The Pioneers got 10 kills apiece from Sarah Krufka and Makayla Dole. Kiki Robinson and Lea Lieb had 17 and 14 assists, respectively, and Ana Gonzalez led the back row with 14 digs. Dole had 11 digs to notch a double-double.
Fairfield 3, James Madison 1
In the nightcap of the opening day of action on Bisacca Court, Megan Theiller once again led the way for Fairfield. The reigning MAAC Player of the Week matched her career high with 22 kills on .281 hitting and notched her second double-double of the day with 11 digs.
Skyler Day added 15 kills and Sydney Williams reached double figures for the first time in her career with 10. Megan O'Sullivan, Oyinkansola Akinola and Sonja Radulovic each had four kills to supplement the Fairfield attack.
The Stags hit .219 in the match, guided by 32 assists from Manuela Nicolini – who also had one kill of her own – and 17 helpers distributed by Sydney Buckley.
Mallory Bechtold helmed the back row a match-best 23 digs while also tying her personal career mark of six assists from the libero spot and landing two service aces. Taylor Rudeen aided the defensive effort with 12 digs. At the net, O'Sullivan was a part of four of Fairfield's eight blocks. Theiller and Nicolini each had a hand in three send-backs.
Reigning CAA Player of the Year Janey Goodman had a team-high 12 kills for the Dukes, and Briley Brind'Amour notched 11. Taylor Gail and M'Kaela White each had nine finishers while hitting .444 and .438, respectively. Gail was also a part of six of James Madison's 11 blocks.
Tilbe Yaglioglu had 28 assists for the visitors, and Sarah Martin doled out 16. Taylor Austin led the back row with 13 digs.
