FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Volleyball opened up a home weekend at the RecPlex with a 3-1 win over visiting Niagara.
KJ Johnson and
Blakely Montgomery each posted a double-double as the Stags completed the season sweep of the Purple Eagles.
The victory improves the Stags to 16-6 overall and 10-1 in the MAAC. Niagara slips to 6-15 on the year with a 4-7 league tally.
With their 10th MAAC win of the season, the Stags clinch their 27th consecutive winning record in conference play in a streak dating back to 1996. Overall, Fairfield has been above .500 in 30 of 33 seasons of MAAC action.
"As a team, the reason we played well today was a lot of intangibles," said Head Coach
Todd Kress. "We were accountable to one another, our energy was high, our defensive intensity was the best it's been in several weeks, and it was just fun to watch us today. There's still a number of things we can improve upon, but overall we were much better than the last few weeks."
Johnson was a force at the pins for the Stags, putting down 19 kills with only three errors for a .381 hitting percentage. The reigning MAAC Player of the Year also recorded 14 digs and got a hand on four blocks.
"KJ was aggressive, she hit shots, she let the game come to her, and she went for it when her swings were there," Kress said of his All-America outside hitter. "And that was exciting for the entire team to see, because we know that when KJ is at her best, she is pretty tough to stop."
Johnson's performance opened up the attack as four other Stags took 19 or more swings.
Sara Daniels posted nine kills on 19 errorless attempts for a .474 clip, with
Ella Gardiner also notching nine and
Sabria Cooper putting down eight.
Allie Elliott and
Maya Walker recorded four kills apiece, while Montgomery and
Nya Jones each had one.
As a unit, the Stags hit .303 – their seventh match topping .300 this season – led by Montgomery's 23 assists.
Abby Jandro had 15 and
Maddy Jerdonek registered six in the Fairfield 6-2 offense, while
Kyla Berg doled out eight helpers from the libero spot.
Berg also led the back row with a season-best 24 digs, while Montgomery picked up 17 to round out her double-double, Johnson had 14 and Elliott notched 13.
"You expect your libero to be the quarterback of your defensive effort. That's exactly what Kyla was today, and that's a big step in the right direction of our entire defense," noted Kress. "She would tell you that it probably wasn't her best match in terms of passing the ball, but picking up 24 digs and eight assists, she certainly made up for that in other ways."
The defense effort was equally as strong as the net, where the Stags racked up 11 team blocks. Gardiner played a part in seven of those rejections, with Johnson and Walker each getting a piece of four and Daniels putting down three. All told, Fairfield held Niagara to a .135 hitting percentage.
The Purple Eagles were led by 13 kills from Lexi Bapst and nine on .333 hitting by Laryssa Imbuzeiro. Casey Brown had a match-best 28 assists for Niagara, and Bella Peroni recorded a team-leading 21 digs.
Fairfield Volleyball is back in action at the RecPlex tomorrow – Sunday, Oct. 23 – at 1 p.m. to host Canisius. The Golden Griffins are 9-11 overall and 7-4 in the MAAC following a 3-1 loss at Quinnipiac this afternoon. The Stags swept the Griffs in Buffalo to open MAAC play back on Sept. 17.
