FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Volleyball trailed 1-0 for only the second time in conference play in Wednesday evening's meeting with Marist on George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall. The Stags erased the early deficit, taking the next three frames to claim a 3-1 decision. With the victory, Fairfield secures at least a share of its 18th Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Regular Season Championship.
The Stags took the match by set scores of 24-26, 25-13, 26-24 and 25-12 to improve to 19-4 overall and 14-0 in the MAAC. Fairfield is riding a 17-match winning streak that stands as one of the five longest active stretches in the nation. Marist falls to 11-13 on the year with a 9-5 conference tally.
"I'm proud that we were able to clean things up and cut down significantly on our errors after not playing up to our level in the first and third sets," said Head Coach
Todd Kress. "I thought that when we were low error, we dictated play; but when we struggled to keep the ball between the lines, it was a coin flip."
"Credit to Marist for doing a good job of keeping the ball off the floor and forcing us into some of those errors," Kress added, "but a lot of things within our control need some attention, and we look forward to working on that as we get ready for the weekend."
Mayda Garcia set the pace for Fairfield offensively with 16 kills on the outside, swinging at a .220 clip. Garcia also notched 12 digs to round out her eighth double-double of the fall, all of which have come during the MAAC slate.
Opposite of Garcia on the right side,
Joelle Battles added 13 kills and
Laura Seeger sent home 11 finishers.
"I thought Seeger had an excellent match," noted Kress. "A lot of the things she did well were things that she has been focusing on, and that focus and hard work paid off on the court tonight."
In the middle,
Luci Albertson had nine kills and
Kaylie Butts – the reigning MAAC Player of the Week – recorded seven kills at a .333 clip. To round out the attack,
Sonja Radulovic and
Manuela Nicolini each notched one kill.
Nicolini managed the attack to a .214 hitting percentage, dishing out 46 assists. Nicolini leads the MAAC with 10.95 assists per frame and has the offense humming at a conference-best .220 team hitting percentage.
Fairfield also amassed 15 points from the end line as a bevy of different servers kept the Red Foxes on their heels. Nicolini matched her career high with five service aces, while her senior classmates Garcia and Radulovic each delivered three. The quartet of Albertson,
Morgan Doll,
Maddy Jerdonek and
Julia Kallen added one service ace apiece.
Fifteen service aces are the most for a Fairfield team since the Stags served up 16 winners in a four-set victory over Army during the 2003 season. The Stags lead the MAAC this season with 147 service aces,
On the defensive end, Doll had a team-high 17 digs from the libero spot. Nicolini notched 15 to complete her team-leading 14th double-double of the year. Kallen added 10 from the back row and Radulovic posted eight.
Battles and Butts led the way at the net with five blocks apiece, including teaming up for two rejections in the final four rallies of the match. Albertson added a hand in four blocks, Garcia got a piece of three and Nicolini notched one solo stuff. In total, Fairfield's defense held Marist to a .115 hitting percentage.
The Red Foxes were led by a match-best 18 kills from Megan Fergus. McKinley Fox distributed 29 assists for Marist, and libero Sophia Theriot led all players with 18 digs.
In addition to a share of the regular season crown, Fairfield has secured a top-three seed in the upcoming MAAC Championship, which will emanate from Alumni Hall on Nov. 22-24. The Stags will need one win in their four remaining conference matches to lock up the top seed in the tournament.
Up next on the slate, the MAAC's New Jersey contingent comes to Alumni Hall as Rider visits on Saturday, Nov. 9 and Saint Peter's takes the court on Sunday, Nov. 10. Fairfield's four-member senior class will be recognized prior to Sunday's 1 p.m. clash with the Peacocks.
