FAIRFIELD, Conn. – For the third time this season, Fairfield University Volleyball rallied for a 2-0 deficit to earn a 3-2 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) victory. This time, the opponent was Niagara as Fairfield powered past the visiting Purple Eagles on George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall to take the match by set scores of 24-26, 22-25, 25-20, 25-15 and 20-18.
 
"When you're down 2-0 and playing the way we played in the first two sets – we were playing against ourselves as far as committing too many errors – you not only need to keep fighting but you need to start executing. We did a much better job of that in the last three sets," said Head Coach Todd Kress.
 
With the win, Fairfield improves to 12-14 overall and 11-6 in the MAAC. The Stags are locked into the No. 3-5 seeds for the upcoming MAAC Championship with final seeding to be determined by tomorrow's results. Niagara drops to 9-17 on the season with a 9-8 MAAC tally.
 
The Stags were led offensively by a career day from Mayda Garcia, who registered 29 kills on .349 hitting on the outside. That mark tops her previous high of 28 finishers and ranks 10th in a single-match in program history. Garcia joins Fairfield Athletics Hall of Famers Joanne Saunders and Jen McLaughlin as the only two Stags with two 28+ kill performances in the same season.
 
The attack was run through Alexis Rich, who set the Fairfield rally-scoring era record with 68 assists. The mark is also the seventh most in the overall program record book and the highest assist total for a Stag since Kelly Sorensen – also a rookie setter at the time – doled out 77 helpers in a five-set win over Oregon State on Sept. 22, 2000. Rich piloted the Stags to a .228 hitting percentage and 82 total kills, which is the highest team total in a match since 2002.
 
Garcia was one of three Stags to reach double figures in kills. Sydney Williams came off the bench to pound 13 finishers on .476 hitting over the final three sets of action. Sonja Radulovic added 11 kills and Luci Albertson sent home 10.
 
Rounding out the attack, Kaitlyn Fisher hammered seven kills from the right side, with rookies Julia Kallen and Laura Seeger posting five apiece.
 
Also aiding in the scoring was Sophia Hosokawa, who served up a career-best four aces. The Stags scored nine points from behind the line, with Radulovic landing three service aces and one apiece coming from Kallen and Taylor Rudeen.
 
The Stags also posted historic numbers defensively with 107 team digs – the 15th time the Stags eclipsed 100 digs in the rally scoring era. Leading the effort was Garcia with a career-best 26 digs to complete her eighth double-double and second 20-kill, 20-dig match of the season. Rich also set a new personal best in digs with 24 to cap her team-leading ninth double-double of the campaign.
 
In total, five Stags reached double figures in the back row. In the libero slot, Rudeen eclipsed the 20-dig mark for the 10th time in her senior season with 21 in today's effort. Hosokawa and Kallen chipped in defensively with 13 and 11 digs, respectively. At the net, Garcia, Williams and Nora Quinn each had a hand in two of Fairfield's five team blocks.
 
Niagara was led by 17 kills and 13 digs from Caroline Leitch as well as 13 finishers off the swing of Mary Redl. The setting duo of Jessica Streuer and Mirna Kovacevic had 26 and nine assists, respectively, while leading the Purple Eagles to a .165 hitting percentage. Emillie Wright paced the back row from the libero position with 21 digs, and Grace Hetterscheidt led all players at the net with six blocks.
 
"We talked in the locker room about building off of today," said Kress. "If we choose, there's still lots of volleyball to be played this season. And I say 'if we choose' because we controlled the match both in a positive and negative way in all five sets today."
 
Fairfield will close out the regular season on George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall on Sunday with a 1 p.m. visit from Canisius (15-11, 13-4 MAAC). The Stags will recognize their four-member senior class: Fisher, Quinn, Rudeen and Williams – prior to first serve. The match will be broadcast live by the Stag Sports Network on ESPN+.