FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Highlighted by Taylor Rudeen's 1,000th career dig, Fairfield University Volleyball defeated visiting Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) opponent Marist, 3-1, on Wednesday evening on George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall. Rudeen had a match-best 23 digs en route to the milestone.
 
With their 14th consecutive win, the Stags (18-6, 13-0 MAAC) have clinched a first round bye as one of the top two seeds in the upcoming MAAC Championship, which will take place at Alumni Hall on Nov. 17-19. The Stags can claim at least a share of their 17th regular season championship this weekend with two wins or one win and a Niagara loss.
 
Rudeen finished the night with 1,002 career digs as the 16th member of Fairfield's 1,000 Dig Club – a list that includes teammate Megan Theiller (1,112 digs, 12th all-time). The junior has played every set at libero for the Stags this fall.
 
"Taylor is doing a tremendous job anchoring the defense and our serve-receive ," said Head Coach Todd Kress. "It's attributed to her hard work in practice. She works hard and takes pride in her reps, and it has shown in her performance."
 
On the offensive end tonight, the Stags' dual threats of Theiller and Skyler Day each finished with 13 kills from the outside, while Kaylie Butts added 10 finishers and Luci Albertson posted four from the middle. On the right side, Mayda Garcia slammed home nine kills (.571 hitting) and Kaitlyn Fisher recorded a pair.
 
"Mayda did a great job off the bench," said Kress. "She took quality swings and played close to error-free volleyball."
 
The attack was run to a .132 clip by the setting duo of Manuela Nicolini and Sydney Buckley. Nicolini distributed 33 assists in addition to five kills on seven errorless swings (.714) of her own. Buckley, in her longest spell of action since August due to an injury, handed out 12 assists in two sets of work and won a joust at the net for a kill.
 
Rudeen's 23 digs in the back row were supplemented by 16 from Theiller and 10 by Nicolini as both Stags completed a double-double. At the net, Butts had a hand in six of Fairfield's nine blocks, and Nicolini got a piece of three send-backs.
 
Four Stags accounted for seven service aces to round out the Fairfield scoring. Nicolini, Theiller and Jamie Calandro each landed two winners, while Albertson served up one. Calandro's aces came on consecutive points to help close out the first set, and the sophomore also provided tough service in the fourth frame in the 9-0 run that pulled the Stags from an 18-14 deficit to a 23-14 lead that put the match away.
 
"Jamie had Marist out of system just about every time she served tonight, and she kept the ball off the floor with a couple of quality digs that gave us the opportunity to score some big points," noted Kress.
 
Marist (12-13, 9-5 MAAC) was led by a pair of double-doubles - 15 kills and 10 digs from Mackenzie O'Brien and 13 kills and 15 digs from Nikki DeSerpa. Taylor van der Biezen distributed a match-high 37 assists while managing the Red Fox attack to a .093 hitting percentage. Defensively, the MAAC's top blocking team lived up to that billing with 16 rejections, including 11 from Ashton Korona.
 
All four sets of tonight's match featured at least two ties and one lead change, wrapping up with 16 deadlocks and seven lead changes in total. The Stags trailed by four points in three of four sets this evening, erasing that margin in each instance en route to the 3-1 victory.
 
"Marist did some good things to push us, especially at the net from a blocking standpoint. I give them a lot of credit for how they pressed us," Kress said. "I think tonight was a wake-up call for a good number of us. We'll be better over the next two days in practice and ready to go this weekend."
 
This weekend, the Stags play their final two road contests of the regular season with trips to MAAC Volleyball's New Jersey contingent. Fairfield challenges Saint Peter's in Jersey City on Saturday, Nov. 4 at 1 p.m. then heads to Lawrenceville to meet Rider on Sunday, Nov. 5 at noon. The Stags swept the Peacocks and took a 3-1 decision over the Broncs at Alumni Hall in September.
 
Action returns to George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall next Wednesday, Nov. 8 for a 7 p.m. visit from Siena. The Stags will then cap the regular season at home with weekend contests against Niagara and Canisius. All three matches are set to broadcast live on the Stags Sports Network.