FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Volleyball added an exclamation point to the 2024 regular season with a 3-0 win at Saint Peter's on Sunday afternoon. The Stags rolled the victory by set scores of 25-13, 25-9 and 25-16 to polish off a 17-1 conference tally.
The MAAC regular season champion Stags are 19-11 overall and will enter the postseason as the top seed in the MAAC Championship. Fairfield earned a double bye into the semifinals of the bracket, where they will take the court at Siena's UHY Center at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23. Saint Peter's concluded its 2024 campaign with a record of 6-19 overall and 4-14 in the MAAC.
Fairfield hit a scorching season-best .446 in the contest with 41 kills and only eight attack errors on 74 swings.
Harlan Wyche put down nine kills at a .727 clip from the middle while Svenja Rodenbüsch had a match-best 13 finishers swinging at a .611 rate on the outside.
Caroline Collins added six kills on 11 errorless tries,
Maya Walker had four kills on .333 hitting and the duo of
Katelyn Cook and
Janna Schlageter had three kills apiece.
Supplementing the attack,
Monica Vargo went over on two for a pair kills from the setter spot, and
Natalie Carlin dropped home an overpass for her first career kill in her first appearance as the Stags' starting libero.
Abby Jandro and Vargo had the Fairfield attack humming at its prolific rate with 20 and 14 assists, respectively.
Defensively, Fairfield stifled the Peacocks to the tune of just an .038 hitting percentage. Carlin headed the effort in the back row with eight digs with Cook posting six and Jandro contributing five from the back row. At the net,
Harlan Wyche had a hand in all three of the Stags' team blocks.
The Stags also picked up seven points from the endline. Cook served up three aces for Fairfield with Carlin and Vargo dropping in two winners apiece.
The Peacocks were led by eight kills from Maliyah LaBrie. Elena Bilhartz had five kills on six swings for the hosts.
Fairfield's semifinal opponent will be determined by action earlier in the MAAC Championship, which begins on Thursday, Nov. 21. More information will be announced as it is finalized by the conference office.
