RIVERDALE, N.Y. – Fairfield University Volleyball reeled off its 16th consecutive win on Sunday afternoon with a 3-0 sweep at Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) foe Manhattan. The Stags were led by 19 kills on .667 hitting for Kaylie Butts and the team-leading 13th double-double for Manuela Nicolini.
 
With the win by set scores of 25-20, 25-21 and 25-21, the Stags improve to 18-4 and take a four-match lead in the MAAC standings at 13-0. Fairfield is one win shy of clinching at least a share of its 18th MAAC Regular Season Championship since 1996. Manhattan slips to 6-21 overall and 3-11 in the MAAC.
 
Butts, who did not play in Friday's win at Iona, set a new career high for the second straight appearance with her 19 kills. She also hit a career-best .667 (19-1-27), the best showing by a Stag (minimum 20 swings) since Katie Mann hit .720 (18-0-25) in a sweep of Loyola Maryland in 2007.
 
Fairfield hit .288 as a team in the match with Nicolini doling out 44 assists and dispersing over 20 attempts to four different hitters. Luci Albertson joined Butts in double figures with 10 kills on .643 hitting from the middle. Joelle Battles added nine kills (.381) from the right side, with Laura Seeger posting eighth. Julia Kallen notched four, and the senior duo of Nicolini and Sonja Radulovic each had one.
 
The Fairfield defense was led by 11 digs from libero Morgan Doll with Nicolini picking up 10 to complete her third straight double-double. Radulovic had nine and Kallen added eight from the back row. At the net, Fairfield had three team blocks, with Battles playing a part in two rejections and a combination of Albertson, Butts and Kallen each getting a piece of one send-back. In total, the MAAC's top defensive unit limited Manhattan to a .185 team hitting percentage.
 
To round out the scoring, Fairfield got one service ace apiece from Albertson and Nicolini.
 
Manhattan was guided by 12 kills from Julia Menocal and 10 from Vivian Donovan. Abby Wilde doled out 27 assists for the Jaspers, and Nashally Eleutiza led all players with 20 digs.
 
Another three-match week is on deck for the Stags, all within the confines of George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall. The run starts with a Wednesday visit from Marist (11-12, 9-4 MAAC) with first serve slated for 7 p.m.