FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Volleyball closed out the 2022 regular season on Sunday with a 3-0 sweep of visiting Saint Peter's on Senior Day at the RecPlex. The MAAC Regular Season Champion Stags will bring a 10-match winning streak into next week's MAAC Championship in Orlando.
 
Prior to the match, the Stags celebrated five seniors – Joelle Battles, Morgan Doll, Maddy Jerdonek, KJ Johnson and Nya Jones – as well as graduate student Sara Daniels. Over the last four seniors, Fairfield Volleyball has posted a record of 80-22, including a 59-5 record in the MAAC. The Stags have won four straight MAAC Regular Season Championships as well as the MAAC Tournament Championship in both 2019 and the fall of 2021.
 
"This senior class has been a special group, winning four regular season titles and two MAAC Championships. They were also so important to how we bounced back after seeing our spring 2021 season end prematurely due to Covid. They could have let that be a real long-term setback for our program, but I was so proud of the way they helped to lead us both on and off to court in that fall 2021 championship season," said Head Coach Todd Kress. "And beyond the wins and losses, what makes them special is their integrity, their character and their passion for the sport and for life."
 
In this afternoon's match, the Stags were led by Mikayla Haut with 15 kills on .414 hitting from the reigning MAAC Rookie of the Year. KJ Johnson turned in an electric offensive performance with 10 kills on 18 errorless swings (.556) before being relieved midway through the third set by Allie Elliott, who posted a pair of kills.
 
Sara Daniels added six kills on the right side, with Maya Walker and Nya Jones finishing with five and three, respectively, from the middle.
 
Maddy Jerdonek started at setter and doled out a career-best 27 assists. Abby Jandro also spent time running the attack and dished 10 helpers, and Morgan Doll had four assists from the libero spot. All told, the Stags hit a scorching .376 for the match.
 
To cap the scoring, the Stags scored six points from the end line. Co-captains Johnson and Kyla Berg each landed two service aces, with Walker and Avery Schner dropping in one apiece.
 
Defensively, the Stags limited Saint Peter's to a .000 hitting percentage, sparked by nine team blocks. Haut and Walker each had a hand in five of those rejections, while Jones got a piece of three stuffs. In the back row, Doll led all players with 13 digs, while the trio of Berg, Jerdonek and Johnson each had seven. Noelle Carey checked in in two sets and picked up six digs.
 
Saint Peter's (1-30, 1-17) was led by four kills apiece for Ava Harmon and Morgan Thurlow. Lillian Konrad handed out 18 assists for the Peacocks, and libero Alexis Kapales had a team-best 10 digs.
 
Fairfield (23-6, 17-1) will be the top seed in next week's MAAC Championship. Action at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex begins on Wednesday, Nov. 16 with the Stags first taking the court in the quarterfinals on Thursday, Nov. 17 at 11 a.m. against an opponent to be determined.
 
"Next week is going to be an 'all hands on deck' situation," Kress commented. "We expect to be pushed by some teams playing really good volleyball in our conference right now, and we need everybody to be ready and to trust each other no matter what lineup is out on the court."
 
Today's match was the final contest slated to be played at the RecPlex, with the Stags set to move into the new on-campus Leo D. Mahoney Arena in the fall.