FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Twenty-four hours after erasing an 0-2 deficit to defeat Niagara, Fairfield University Volleyball was faced with a similar scenario against visiting Canisius. But this afternoon on George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall, the Stags' push to force a fifth frame fell two point shy as the Golden Griffins won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) match by set scores of 25-17, 25-23, 24-26 and 25-23. Fairfield fought off seven consecutive match-point opportunities in the fourth frame before Canisius broke through with the deciding tally.
After today's action, the Stags wrap up the regular season at 12-15 overall and 11-7 in the MAAC. Canisius stands at 16-11 on the year with a 14-4 MAAC record. Fairfield will begin postseason play on Thursday, Nov. 15 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Seeding and first round matchups for the 2018 MAAC Championship will be available shortly on FairfieldStags.com after that information is finalized by the conference office.
"We need to start getting out of the gate with consistent fight and need to be more consistent in general," said Head Coach
Todd Kress. "But if we can start fighting from the first point and clean up our attack errors, I think we can compete with anybody in the conference. We will prepare this week and I know we'll be ready to go down in Disney."
Following up her 29-kill, 26-dig effort yesterday,
Mayda Garcia notched another double-double for the Stags with 18 kills and 15 digs.
Alexis Rich also posted her second double-double of the weekend, distributing 45 assists with 13 digs. In the process, Rich boosted her single-season total to 1,043 assists. She is the sixth rookie setter in Fairfield history to eclipse 1,000 assists in a season and the first since Rachel Romansky (1,105) in 2010.
Also aiding in the attack today were
Julia Kallen,
Kaitlyn Fisher and
Laura Seeger with seven kills apiece. In the middle,
Sydney Williams added six finishers with
Nora Quinn and
Luci Albertson each registering four.
Sonja Radulovic rounded out the offense with three kills.
The Stags netted five points from behind the service line as Williams and Radulovic each served up two winners while Garcia added one.
Defensively,
Taylor Rudeen led the effort with 23 digs to post her 11th 20-plus dig outing of the fall. In addition to Garcia and Rich with 15 and 13 digs, respectively, Kallen added nine from the back row. At the net, Rich had a hand in five of the Stags' 10 team blocks. Williams got a piece of four rejections and Garcia and Albertson were each in on three stuffs.
Canisius, which had secured the No. 2 seed in the MAAC and "double bye" to the semifinals prior to today's match, was led by 15 kills from Leah Simmons and 13 finishers on .414 hitting by Melina Woods. Cassidy Ceriani doled out 46 assists for the Griffs, and Sofia Lopez Acosta led all players with 27 digs.
Prior to the match, the Stags recognized their four seniors – Fisher, Quinn, Rudeen and Williams – for their contributions to Fairfield Volleyball. The Stags have won 86 matches to date over the past four seasons, including three MAAC Championships and NCAA postseason appearances.
Complete updates during the week and throughout the Stags' run at the 2018 MAAC Championship will be available on FairfieldStags.com.
