FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Four different hitters recorded at least 13 kills and two players notched double-doubles as Fairfield University Volleyball topped Siena, 3-1, in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action on Wednesday evening on George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall. The win officially clinched a berth for the Stags in the MAAC Championship for the 24th consecutive campaign. The 2019 edition of the MAAC Championship will be held at Alumni Hall on Nov. 22-24.
 
After knocking off the Saints by set scores of 25-17, 25-27, 25-17 and 25-19 for their 14th consecutive win, the Stags improve to 16-4 overall and 11-0 in the MAAC. Siena drops to 9-14 on the season with a 4-8 conference tally.
 
In tonight's match, the Stags got 15 kills apiece from Mayda Garcia (.231) on the outside and Joelle Battles (.400) from the right side. In the middle, Kaylie Butts had a career-high 14 kills on 22 errorless swings to post a .636 clip and Luci Albertson matched her personal standard with 13 kills at a .360 rate. Garcia and setter Manuela Nicolini each recorded a double-double in the contest.
 
"Our middles did a great job of controlling the tempo, and that's a credit to Manuela as well for how she distributed the ball tonight," said Head Coach Todd Kress.
 
The showing marked the fourth time this season that the Stags had four different hitters reach double-digit kills in the same match.
 
Nicolini dished out 57 assists while manage the attack to a .294 team hitting percentage. With the effort, Nicolini eclipses Barbie Thistle to claim fifth place on Fairfield's all-time list with 2,637 career assists. Her 57 assists tonight mark the most by a Stag in a four-set match since Thistle's 59 helpers against Penn in 2007.
 
Laura Seeger supplemented the attack on the right side with five kills for the MAAC's most efficient offense.  Fairfield is hitting a conference-best .223 this season with three individual hitters (Albertson, Butts, Battles) among the league's top 10.
 
To complete the scoring, Nicolini served up two service aces with Sonja Radulovic and Julia Kallen each landing one.
 
On the defensive end, Morgan Doll posted 17 digs from the libero spot to guide the back row. Nicolini also had 17 digs to cap her team-leading 11th double-double of the fall. Garcia's 10 digs rounded out her seventh double-double, all of which have come during the MAAC portion of the slate. Radulovic was the fourth Stag to reach double figures in the back row with 10 digs.
 
At the net, Butts was a part of four of the Stags' six team blocks, including one solo rejections. Nicolini and Albertson each had a hand in two send-backs as Fairfield held Siena to .162 hitting.
 
Siena was led by eight kills apiece from Isabella Ultsch and Maddy Dunigan. Maria Llinas dished out 30 assists, and the duo of Madoka Weldon and Gracie Halley split libero duties and finished with 13 and 12 digs, respectively.
 
Tonight's match marked the beginning of a stretch of six MAAC outings in the next 12 days for the Stags. The run resumes this weekend in the Empire State with visits to Iona on Friday, Nov. 1 and Manhattan on Sunday, Nov. 3.