FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Volleyball hit a season-best .366 en route to a 3-0 sweep of visiting Rider on Saturday at Leo D. Mahoney Arena. The Stags topped the Broncs by set scores of 25-20, 25-23 and 25-15 en route to their fifth consecutive victory.
With the win, the Stags improve to 12-5 overall and 8-1 in the MAAC. The Broncs drop to 5-12 on the season with a 4-5 conference mark.
"We have been steadily improving in terms of our shot selection and decision making, and those are two things that really drove our attack today," said Head Coach Nancy Somera. "Any time you hit .366, it's not just about your hitters. We passed the ball well for the most part, which kept us in system and gave Blakely plenty of options running our offense."
The Stags pounded 50 kills with just nine attack errors en route to their .366 clip. Fairfield hit .333 or better in all three frames of the match.
Leading the way were Allie Elliott and Mamie Krubally with 12 kills apiece. Elliott hit .429 at the pins and finished off a double-double with 14 digs. Krubally's dozen kills marked a new career high for the rookie, who hit .409 for the match. She also led the effort at the net with five blocks.
Also on the outside, Mikayla Haut added nine kills, while middle hitters Janna Schlageter and Maya Walker posted seven and six kills, respectively. Svenja Rodenbusch chipped in with two kills and Blakely Montgomery added two from the setter spot.
Montgomery ran the attack and dished out 40 assists, which is a personal career-best for a three-set match.
With Krubally's five leading the way, the Stags totaled nine team blocks. Schlageter and Walker each had a hand in three. In the back row, Kyla Berg led the effort with 16 digs from the libero spot to go along with 14 for Elliott and 11 by Haut. Fairfield limited the Broncs, which entered the day as the MAAC's top hitting team, to a .128 clip for the contest.
How It Happened
SET 1 | Despite conceding the first four points of the match, the Stags quickly rallied to tie the frame at 7-7. The squads traded points out to another deadlock at 16-16, which was snapped by the Broncs to take a 17-16 edge. However, Fairfield responded with the next five points of the set to gain a 21-17 lead that they would not relinquish. A kill and a solo block from Haut polished off the stanza with the Stags taking a 25-20 win.
SET 2 | Set 2 seemed primed for a similar result with Fairfield emerging from a nip-and-tuck frame with a 22-18 lead. But a 5-1 run for the Broncs tied the set at 23-23. But the Stags came out of the stalemate with back-to-back kills for Schlageter and Krubally to take a 25-23 decision and gain a 2-0 lead in the match.
SET 3 | The third set was never in doubt, as the Stags raced out to an 11-0 lead. Haut posted two kills and two aces and Krubally notched two kills and a block during the run. The Broncs ended their drought and traded points the rest of the way, which was more than sufficient for Fairfield to ice a 25-15 set win and a 3-0 victory in the match.
Up Next
The Stags conclude their four-game homestand tomorrow -- Sunday, Oct. 15 -- at 1 p.m. at Leo D. Mahoney against Saint Peter's. The Peacocks were swept at Quinnipiac this afternoon to fall to 0-21 on the season.
Admission is free for all fans to all Fairfield Volleyball regular season home matches this season.
This article created using technology provided by Data Skrive.
