HAMDEN, Conn. – Twenty-seven days ago on George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall, Fairfield University Volleyball erased an 0-2 deficit to top Quinnipiac in five sets. In tonight's rematch in Hamden, the Stags' made a similar run that fell a few points short as the host Bobcats held on for a 3-2 decision on Burt Kahn Court. The Bobcats took the match by set scores of 25-18, 16-25, 25-22, 22-25 and 15-11.
After the split of the season series the Stags stand at 10-13 overall and 9-5 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Quinnipiac improves to 6-18 overall with a 5-9 conference tally. Fairfield last played multiple five-set matches against the same opponent in the 2014 season, losing to Manhattan twice during the regular season by 3-2 counts, then clipping the Jaspers in five sets at the MAAC Championship.
Laura Seeger paced Fairfield offensively with 14 kills on .417 hitting with fellow rookie
Julia Kallen hammering 13 finishers.
Luci Albertson was the Stags' third hitter in double figures with 10 kills. Albertson hit .500 for the match, improving her MAAC-leading hitting percentage to .408 against conference foes this fall.
Sydney Williams just missed double figures with nine kills in the middle, slamming them home at a .375 clip.
Mayda Garcia added eight kills on the outside and
Sonja Radulovic chipped in with three. Rounding out the attack,
Sophia Hosokawa dropped in a fortuitous kill on an overpass, and
Alexis Rich dumped over one from the setter spot. Rich piloted the offense to a .217 hitting percentage with 49 assists.
The Stags also scored five points from behind the service line, led by Hosokawa's pair of aces. Albertson, Kallen and
Taylor Rudeen each served up one winner.
Defensively, Rudeen set the standard in the back row with 13 digs. Kallen added 11 digs to record her second career-double-double, and Hosokawa pitched in 10 digs as a defensive specialist. At the net, Seeger and Williams each had a hand in four of Fairfield's nine team blocks, with Albertson getting a piece of three rejections.
Quinnipiac's Morgan Sherwin led all players with 16 kills with Kat Miller adding a double-double consisting of 15 kills and 11 digs. Lydia Jones registered 14 kills on .407 hitting in the middle. Maria Pansari doled out 51 assists while managing the Bobcats to a .166 hitting percentage. Libero Alejandra Rodriguez helmed the defense with 14 digs.
The Stags will play their final four MAAC regular season matches at home, beginning with a visit from Siena on Saturday, Nov. 3. First serve from Alumni Hall is set for 1 p.m.
