FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Volleyball needed only 55 minutes from first serve to the final point to dispatch visiting Manhattan on Saturday afternoon in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action at the RecPlex. The Stags took the 3-0 decision by scores of 25-4, 25-10, 25-13 to remain the MAAC's lone unbeaten team.
 
Saturday's contest was the program's annual Herd for a Cure match for breast cancer awareness. The contest, held in partnership with The Cancer Couch Foundation, was played in recognition of breast cancer survivor and Associate Head Coach Melissa Batie-Smoose and in memory of Head Coach Todd Kress's mother Joanne.
 
Fairfield (12-5, 6-0 MAAC) hit at a solid .311 clip for the match with six players contributing kills. Sara Daniels and Nya Jones led that effort from the middle with eight kills apiece, and fellow middle Maya Walker had seven finishers. Jones swung at a team-leading .467 and Walker posted a .462 hitting percentage on her 13 swings.
 
The attack from the pins featured seven kills for Allie Elliott, six for Morgan Doll and three from Mikayla Haut.
 
Maddy Jerdonek made her first career start at setter and dished out 17 assists. Abby Jandro was the other half of the Stags' 6-2 rotation and doled out 19 assists.
 
Defensively, Elliott led the Stags with 13 digs while Doll and Jandro posted seven apiece. Kyle Berg added six digs in her one set at libero, while Avery Schner and Noelle Carey each donned the off-color jersey for a set and recorded five and four digs, respectively.
 
At the net, Jones had a hand in seven of the Stags' eight team blocks. Daniels was a part of four Fairfield rejections and Elliott got a piece of three. All told, the Fairfield defense limited Manhattan to a -.103 hitting percentage.
 
"We played very clean volleyball in the first set and even though I thought we let our foot off the gas a bit and committed some errors, I was pleased with a lot of our performance today," said Kress."Maddy starting at setter for the first time in her career did a nice job distributing the ball and getting the middles involved."
 
Led by first-year Head Coach Mauro Miletic – a former Manhattan assistant from 2014-16 – the Jaspers suited up just six active players this afternoon due to injuries and illness. Manhattan is 1-16 overall and 1-6 in the MAAC.
 
Camila Gomez contributed six of the Jaspers' 11 kills and led the way defensively with 13 digs.
 
"It's good to have Mauro back in the conference," said Kress. "They are in a tough spot right now, but we spoke before the match and it sounds like they're working hard in the gym and on the recruiting trail, and I know that brighter days are ahead for them."
 
Action returns to the RecPlex on Sunday for a 1 p.m. visit from Iona. The Gaels defeated Quinnipiac, 3-1, this afternoon in Hamden to maintain sole possession of second place in the MAAC at 7-1 as part of a 12-6 overall record.