WORCESTER, Mass. – The Fairfield University volleyball team opened action at the Crusader Classic with a 3-0 sweep of Brown. The Stags will play Bryant at 5 p.m. tonight in Worcester and meet UMass Lowell and host Holy Cross tomorrow to wrap up the weekend.

Fairfield (2-3) won the match by set scores of 25-23, 25-18 and 25-19. With the loss, Brown begins its 2016 campaign at 0-1.

Megan Theiller and Skyler Day each registered 12 kills for Fairfield. Theiller added eight digs to her dozen finishers and Day picked up six digs from the back row. The duo combined to hit .225 on the outside to lead the Stags' attack against the Bears.

In the middle of the offense, Megan O'Sullivan had eight kills on .417 hitting, and Sydney Williams chipped in with three kills. Rounding out the offense were Kaitlyn Fisher with two kills and Oyinkansola Akinola adding one.

The Stags' attack was run to a .189 hitting percentage bolstered by a .357 showing in the decisive third set. Manuela Nicolini distributed 20 assists to go along with two kills of her own, and Sydney Buckley handed out 11 assists.

Defensively, Mallory Bechtold led all players with 14 digs from the libero spot with Buckley and Nicolini contributing six and five digs, respectively. Nicolini also had a solo block from the setter spot, and Akinola and Fisher teamed up to account for the Stags' two stuffs in the match. The defensive effort limited Brown to a .126 hitting percentage.

To cap the scoring for Fairfield, Theiller served up two aces while Bechtold, Nicolini and Taylor Rudeen each landed one winner.

The Bears were led by five kills apiece from Sabrina Stillwell, Payton Smith and Jacqueline Jacobs. Sarah Lucenti ran the offense to the tune of 13 assists, and Melissa Cairo had a team-leading 11 digs.

The Stags return to the court this evening at 5 p.m. to challenge Bryant. The Bulldogs, who will play UMass Lowell this afternoon prior to meeting Fairfield, enter the weekend with a record of 2-3.