BUFFALO, N.Y. – Fairfield University Volleyball saw its 19-match winning streak come to an end this afternoon at Canisius with a 3-2 setback to the host Golden Griffins. The Stags were paced by a career-high 22 kills from Laura Seeger, and Morgan Doll led the defense with a career-best 34 digs.
 
Despite the loss, Fairfield (21-5, 16-1) has secured the top seed in the upcoming MAAC Championship, which will be held on George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall on Nov. 22-24. The victory keeps Canisius (14-15, 11-6 MAAC) in contention for the second seed in the tournament, which would earn a bye to the semifinals for the Griffs alongside the Stags. Fairfield, which swept Canisius last month at Alumni Hall, dropped today's encounter by set scores of 28-26, 20-25, 25-19, 19-25 and 10-15.
 
"We lost our aggressiveness at the net during critical moments of the match, and definitely in Set 5 when we needed it most," said Head Coach Todd Kress. "Credit goes to Canisius, who simply wanted it more than we did today."
 
In addition to Seeger's 22 kills – topping her previous career best of 20 finishers – Joelle Battles and Julia Kallen each put down 14 kills in today's match. In the middle, Kaylie Butts and Luci Albertson added nine and seven kills, respectively.
 
The attack was managed to a .176 hitting percentage by Manuela Nicolini. The senior setter distributed 49 assists, pushing her into fourth place in Fairfield history with 2,894 career assists. Nicolini also eclipsed 1,000 assists for the season with 1,020 – the 19th 1,000-assist campaign in program history.
 
Alexis Rich added eight assists and Doll dished out seven from the libero spot.
 
The Stags also scored six points from the end line. Albertson served up three service aces with Nicolini landing two winners and Doll delivering one.
 
In the back row, Doll's 34 digs marked the most in a match by a Stag since Camille Coffey's program-record 36 digs the 2014 MAAC Championship Semifinals. Kallen's 22 digs were also a new personal best as the sophomore rounded out her third double-double of the fall. A pair of seniors also contributed defensively as Jamie Calandro notched 13 digs and Sonja Radulovic registered 12.
 
As a team, Fairfield had a season-best 101 digs in the contest.
 
The effort at the net was led by Butts with six blocks, including a solo send-back. Nicolini had a hand in three rejections with Kallen and Battles each a part of two stuffs. Fairfield aggregated eight blocks in total.
 
Canisius hit .226 as a team, guided by 19 kills at a .319 clip from Ella Loussia. Leah Simmons and Hannah Nelson contributed 12 kills apiece. Cassidy Ceriani ran the offense with 51 assists to go along with 16 digs and five service aces. Libero Bree Long paced the Griffs' defense with 27 digs, and Camille Vanleer got a piece of a team-leading six blocks.
 
Fairfield will wrap-up the 2019 regular season tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Niagara. The Purple Eagles defeated Quinnipiac in five sets this afternoon to improve to 13-14 overall and 12-5 in the MAAC and can lock up the two spot in the MAAC Championship with a win over the Stags.
 
The postseason begins for the Stags on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. at Alumni Hall in the semifinal round of the MAAC Championship.