FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Volleyball concluded the 2018 Fairfield Invitational on the short side of 3-1 decisions to both Harvard and Northeastern.
Mayda Garcia had a career day with 28 kills and 19 digs in the weekend finale against the Huskies en route to All-Tournament honors.
Garcia led all players in the tournament with 51 total kills and 4.64 kills per set. She also slotted eighth with a .208 hitting percentage on 149 swings – at least 60 more attempts than any other player in the top 10 for efficiency. Garcia was joined on the Fairfield Invitational All-Tournament Team by Madelyn Kaprelyan (Central Connecticut State), Christina Cornelius (Harvard), Naya Gros (Michigan State) and Samantha Shupe (Northeastern).
In Saturday's action, Fairfield (1-8) opened the tournament with a 3-1 loss to Harvard (2-4) by set scores of 25-19, 25-16, 19-25, and 25-19. Garcia headed the attack with 13 kills, and
Laura Seeger added 10.
Alexis Rich distributed 35 assists and
Taylor Rudeen had a team-leading 16 digs.
In the nightcap against Northeastern (4-5), Garcia's 28 kills slotted her three finishers shy of the program record of 31 attained by Joanne Saunders '02 in a win at Canisius in 1999 and matched by Saunders against Stanford in 2000. Garcia's 19 digs against Northeastern also marked a new personal standard for the junior. Fairfield won the first set against the Huskies but the visitors rallied for three straight decisions to take the victory by a final tally of 18-25, 28-26, 26-24 and 28-26.
The Stags also got a standout performance on both sides of the net from
Sydney Williams, who racked up 11 kills and had a hand in seven of Fairfield's 12 team blocks. Rich ran the offense to the tune of 51 assists and completed her double-double with 12 digs. The rookie setter also recorded five kills on her own and notched four blocks.
Rudeen had 23 digs in the finale and ranked second among all players in the tournament with an average of 4.00 digs per set. In the process, the senior libero passed her former teammate
Megan Theiller '18 and moved into 11th place of Fairfield's all-time list with 1,235 career digs. Rudeen is 19 digs shy of tying Joanne Saunders '02 for 10th place (1,254 digs).
Next weekend, the Stags will begin the MAAC portion of the schedule in New Jersey with visits to Saint Peter's and Rider on Sept. 15-16. Conference play comes to Alumni Hall on Sept. 22-23 against Manhattan and Iona. All four matches are set for a 1 p.m. first serve.
