RIVERDALE, N.Y. – Fairfield University Volleyball served up a season-high 13 aces to fuel a 3-1 victory at Manhattan on Sunday afternoon. The Stags were led offensively by 17 kills from K.J. Johnson in the 2021 regular season finale.
 
With the win, Fairfield finishes the regular season at 21-8 overall and 16-2 in the MAAC. The top-seeded Stags will meet tournament host and eighth-seeded Siena in the MAAC Championship Quarterfinals on Friday, Nov. 19 in Loudonville. The Jaspers conclude their fall campaign at 2-20 overall and 2-16 in MAAC play.
 
Georgia Via and Blakely Montgomery each served up three of the Stags' 13 aces. Luci Albertson and Noelle Carey both scored twice from the endline, with the trio of Johnson, Kyla Berg and Morgan Doll each landing one. Fairfield's previous high was 10 aces posted in the first meeting with the Jaspers – a 3-0 sweep at the RecPlex on Oct. 16.
 
With her 17 kills, Johnson finishes the regular season as the MAAC leader with 4.88 kills per set. She entered the weekend ranking eighth nationally in kill and among the top pin hitters in terms of hitting percentage with a .323 mark for the year.
 
Laura Seeger added 12 kills on the outside on .357 hitting, and Ella Gardiner put down eight kills at a .304 clip. Rounding out the attack, Albertson and Joelle Battles had six finishers apiece, Mikayla Haut recorded two, and Noelle Carey landed one from the back row.
 
Montgomery ran the offense from the setter spot and dished out 44 assists along with two kills of her own. Montgomery also notched 11 digs to round out her third career double-double.
 
Via led all Stags in the back row with 19 digs. Berg chipped in eight, Johnson had seven and Carey posted five. At the net, Gardiner had a hand in six of the Stags' 10 team blocks. Montgomery was a part of four rejections, and Albertson got a hand on three as the Stags limited Manhattan to a .131 hitting percentage.
 
Fairfield's MAAC Championship Quarterfinal meeting with Siena is tentatively slated for 11 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 19. The entirety of the three-day tournament will be broadcast live on the ESPN family of networks.
 
"It's the middle of November, and this is when the volleyball heats up," said Head Coach Todd Kress. "We need to have a great set of practices this week before heading to Albany, and then prepare mentally for a dogfight on Friday against Siena."