FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Volleyball celebrated Senior Day on Saturday at Leo D. Mahoney Arena with a 3-0 sweep of visiting Siena. The Stags rolled to victory by set scores of 25-22, 25-9 and 25-9. Eleven different Stags contributed a point to the straight-set triumph.
"I was happy to have so many players contribute today, and it was great to have Elle [Shult] back in the rotation after a month," said Nancy Somera. "It's going to take all of us to continue to be successful this season, so it's a huge benefit to have everybody who checks in playing well and playing with confidence."
With the win, the Stags improve to 17-6 overall and 13-2 in the MAAC. Fairfield reclaimed first place from Quinnipiac, which dropped a four-set match to Marist this afternoon to slip to 12-3.
Siena falls to 2-24 overall and 2-14 in the MAAC with today's setback.
Fairfield's balanced attack hit a season-high .376, led by 10 kills on .692 hitting for Mamie Krubally. Also in the middle, Maya Walker had six kills at a .500 clip, while starting pin hitters Allie Elliott and Mikayla Haut added nine and six finishers, respectively.
Rounding out the attack, Janna Schlageter had four kills, Blakely Montgomery dumped over three from the setter spot, Svenja Rodenbusch notched two and Kyla Berg landed one from the libero spot. Montgomery ran the offense, doling out 28 assists.
In a welcome return to the lineup, Elle Shult took the court for the first time since Oct. 1, posting three kills and three blocks.
To cap the scoring effort, Montgomery served up three aces with Berg and Carey each landing one from the end line.
Shult and Walker had a hand in three blocks each as the Stags racked up nine team rejections. Elliott, Schlageter and Montgomery each got a piece of two send-backs. In the back row, Berg led all players with 16 digs. Noelle Carey chipped in eight from the back row and Haut had six.
The Stags' defense limited Siena to a .044 hitting percentage, marking the ninth time overall and the eight time in 15 MAAC contests that they have held their opposition under .100.
Prior to the match, Fairfield recognized its three graduating student-athletes, seniors Kyla Berg and Noelle Carey and grad student Elle Shult.
"Especially for a first-year coaching staff, our seniors have been so crucial with the maturity and experience that they bring to our team," said Somera. "For all that they do on the volleyball court, I know that there's also so much they do as leaders outside of our gym that makes us a better team."
How It Happened
SET 1 | After falling behind 8-4, the Stags embarked on a 10-1 run featuring kills from five different players to surge to a 14-9 advantage. Siena made a final push, pulling within one point at 22-21 but back-to-back Siena errors quelled the threat and a Haut kill ended the frame, with the Stags taking a 25-22 decision to nab a 1-0 lead in the contest.
SET 2 | The decisive run came earlier in Set 2, with Fairfield quickly flipping a 3-1 deficit to a 7-3 lead. The margin continued to grow as Siena managed back-to-back points only once more in the frame while the Stags pulled away for a 25-9 win to extend the margin in the match to 2-0.
SET 3 | After Siena scored first in Set 3, the Stags rattled off the next 10 points to stake themselves to an insurmountable advantage. A run of three consecutive Fairfield blocks brought the contest to match point, and a Siena attack error sealed the frame, 25-9, and iced the 3-0 sweep for the Stags.
Up Next
The Stags close out their three-match homestand and the regular season home slate on Sunday, Nov. 5 with a 1 p.m. visit from Marist. The Red Foxes are 13-14 overall and 11-5 in the MAAC after their four-set win at Quinnipiac this afternoon.
This article created using technology provided by Data Skrive.
