FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Volleyball closed out the home portion of the 2024 schedule with a 3-1 victory over Niagara on Sunday afternoon at Leo D. Mahoney Arena. With the win, the Stags clinched a share of the MAAC Regular Season Championship.
 
Fairfield (17-11, 15-1 MAAC) earned a piece of the conference crown for the sixth consecutive season as well as their ninth in the last 10 campaigns and 11th in the last 13. Overall, the Stags have won or shared the MAAC Regular Season Championship on 23 occasions dating back to 1996 (29 seasons). Fairfield can lock up the outright title and top seed in the MAAC Championship with one win its final two regular season matches next weekend at Rider and Saint Peter's.
 
"Niagara puts up a great block, and I think the turning point in the match is when our hitters made the adjustments that they needed to work around that," said Head Coach Nancy Somera. "Our block also improved as the match went on, and we kept up the same defensive intensity that helped carry us yesterday."
 
After hitting .085 in the first two sets, en route to splitting those frames with the Purple Eagles, the Stags swung at a scorching .383 clips in the final two frames to put the match away. All told, Fairfield hit .233 on its way to winning the contest by set scores of 25-18, 17-25, 25-20 and 25-14.
 
Mamie Krubally set the pace for the attack on the right side with a match-leading 16 kills. Allie Elliott had 13 kills, Maya Walker put down 11 on .471 hitting, and Mikayla Haut was the fourth Stag in double figures with 10 kills at a .375 rate.
 
Emma Beretich added seven kills on 15 errorless swings in the middle (.467) with Svenja Rodenbüsch chipping in four kills and Janna Schlageter posting a pair of finishers.
 
Blakely Montgomery piloted the offense with 43 assists and Abby Jandro had 13 in two sets of action.
 
Elliott and Montgomery each had a double-double with 15 and 11 digs, respectively. Kyla Berg paced the back row from the libero spot with 17 digs and Noelle Carey notched 10. Haut was just short of a double-double of her own with nine digs.
 
At the net, Beretich contributed to six of Fairfield's 10 team blocks. Walker had a hand on four rejections and Elliott got a piece of three. The Stags limited Niagara to a .173 hitting percentage for the contest.
 
Kinga Wronska led the Purple Eagles with 14 kills and 12 digs. Laryssa Imbuzeiro had nine kills on .412 hitting and was the driving force in seven of Niagara's 14 blocks. Payton Lee also had seven stuffs, including a solo block.
 
Fairfield Volleyball concludes the regular season next weekend with trips to Rider and Saint Peter's. First serves on Saturday in Lawrenceville and Sunday in Jersey City are both set for 1 p.m.