FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- Fairfield University Volleyball posted a season-high .313 hitting percentage en route to a 3-0 sweep of visiting Niagara on Sunday at Leo D. Mahoney Arena. Mikayla Haut and Maya Walker led a balanced Stags' attack with eight kills apiece.
After also sweeping Canisius yesterday at Mahoney Arena, Fairfield improves to 6-4 overall and 2-0 in the MAAC. Niagara drops to 1-9 with an 0-2 conference tally.
"Our ball control is really coming along, which is translating to better offensive production," said Head Coach Nancy Somera. "Both Blakely and Abby are starting to connect with all of our hitters, especially the middles, and that is opening things up for us at the pins."
Haut's eight kills came on .500 hitting from the pins, while Walker paced the middle with eight kills at a .462 clip. Ell Shult added seven kills while hitting .556, with Allie Elliott also putting down seven, Svenja Rodenbusch hammering six and Janna Schlageter chipping in five.
The offense was managed by Blakely Montgomery and Abby Jandro with 22 and 15 assists, respectively. Jandro also dumped over two kills from the setter spot.
Meanwhile, Niagara managed just a .103 hitting percetange against the Fairfield defensive effort. The back row was guided by 10 digs from Rodenbusch and nine by Elliott and, at the net, Walker had a hand in four of the Stags' eight team blocks. Haut and Shult each played a role in two sendbacks, including one solo block apiece.
How It Happened
SET 1 | A 4-4 start marked the last tie of the opening frame, as Fairfield rolled off three straight points via two Walker kills and a service ace for Jandro. And 11-1 run then quickly put the set out of reach at 18-7 as Fairfield salted away a 25-11 set one triumph.
SET 2 | The Purple Eagles never allowed the Stags to pull away in the second stanza, closing a 16-10 gap to 22-19 down the stretch, But Fairfield kept Niagara at bay with late kills for Shult and Haut to close out the 25-20 win to grab a 2-0 lead in the match.
SET 3 | The final set was dead heat out to a 10-10 count, but the Stags would win 10 of the next 11 rallies at that point -- a stretch that featured three consecutive Rodenbusch aces -- to take a commanding 20-21 advantage. The squads traded points the rest of the way, which was more than enough for Fairfield to ice the game at 25-14 and complete the 3-0 sweep.
Up Next
The first MAAC road weekend is up next for the Stags with trips to Siena (1-10, 1-1 MAAC) and Marist (3-9, 1-0 MAAC) on the docket for Sept. 23-24. The Saints and Red Foxes played each other this weekend, with Marist taking a 3-0 win in Poughkeepsie.
This article created using technology provided by Data Skrive.
