BALTIMORE – For the second time in as many days, Fairfield University Volleyball went the distance to come away with a non-conference win. Today, the opponent was Lafayette as the Stags claimed the fourth and fifth frames from the Leopards en route to a 3-2 victory to close out action at the UMBC Invitational.
 
Fairfield also earned a five-set win over the host Retrievers last night to cap the opening-weekend tournament at 2-1. Lafayette falls to 0-3. The Stags took the match by set scores of 25-13, 20-25, 22-25, 25-13 and 17-15.
 
"It's nice to start the season with a 2-1 weekend and to pull out another five-set win," said Head Coach Todd Kress. "Now we need to get back into our practice gym – and bring the momentum from this weekend with us – to assist in cleaning up some things going forward."
 
Laura Seeger and Sonja Radulovic paced the Fairfield attack with 14 kills apiece. Radulovic completed a double-double with 11 digs in the contest, while Seeger's defensive contributions came at the net, as the sophomore had a hand in five of Fairfield's 14 team blocks.
 
Kaylie Butts was also a force up front both on the attack and on defense. Butts sent home 12 kills on .476 hitting and racked up a team-best seven blocks. Joelle Battles added 10 kills to hit double-digits for the second consecutive match, and Luci Albertson had seven kills (.467) and five rejections.
 
The offense was run through Manuela Nicolini, who picked up her second double-double of 2019 with 44 assists and 13 digs. Nicolini, who added one kill of her own, piloted the Stags to a .291 team hitting percentage. Alexis Rich and Morgan Doll each chipped in with five assists.
 
In the back row, Nicolini and Jamie Calandro set the tone with 13 digs apiece. Doll registered 12 digs, and Julia Kallen posted eight. Also aided the Stags' strong showing on the block were Nicolini with a hand in four stuffs and Radulovic getting a hand on two send-backs. In aggregate, the defensive effort limited Lafayette to a .190 hitting percentage.
 
Rounding out the scoring, Nicolini and Doll each landed a pair of service aces. Calando, Kallen and Maddy Jerdonek all delivered one winner from behind the serving line.
 
The Leopards' attack was headed by Ellie Carrera-Justiz, who led all players with 21 kills. Carrera-Justiz completed a double-double on the day with 12 digs. The setting duo of Julia Hoard and Jenna Bailey posted 30 and 18 assists, respectively, for Lafayette, and Grace Steurer notched a match-high 18 digs.
 
Fairfield returns to action next weekend for three matches in Malibu at the Pepperdine Tournament. The Stags will challenge Cal Baptist and Texas A&M in addition to the host Waves.