HAMDEN, Conn. – Fairfield University Volleyball saw its 20-match MAAC unbeaten streak come to an end on Sunday with a 3-2 setback at Quinnipiac.
Maya Walker led the Stags with a career-high 15 kills on .441 hitting and put down eight blocks. The Bobcats eked out the match by set scores of 25-18, 25-27, 25-22, 22-25 and 15-9.
With the loss, the Stags slipped to 15-11 overall and 13-1 in the MAAC. Quinnipiac improves to 14-12 on the year with an 11-3 conference record. Fairfield maintains a two-match lead in the standings over Quinnipiac and Rider (11-3). The Stags clinched the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Bobcats by virtue of their 3-0 win in the first meeting at Mahoney Arena in early October. Fairfield won the first meeting with the Broncs, 3-1, and travels to Lawrenceville for the return matchup on Nov. 16.
Walker's 15 kills came on .441 hitting as the junior did not record an error in 34 attempts from the middle.
Mamie Krubally also put down 15 finishers working from the right side, and
Allie Elliott led the effort on the left side with 12 kills at a .242 clip.
Supplementing the attack,
Mikayla Haut had eight kills,
Emma Beretich and Svenja Rodenbüsch tallied three apiece, and
Harlan Wyche posted one.
Blakely Montgomery piloted the offense with 36 assists and completed a double-double with a team-leading 19 digs.
Abby Jandro added nine assists.
Walker led the defense as well as the attack as she had a hand in eight of Fairfield's 11 blocks. Elliott and Krubally played a role in three rejections apiece, with Beretich, Haut and Rodenbüsch each contributing to two.
In the back row, Elliott wrapped up her double-double with 14 digs and
Noelle Carey recorded 10.
Kyla Berg chipped in nine digs, running her career total to 1,507. She is the sixth Stag to reach the 1,500-dig milestone and ranks fifth in the Fairfield history with 3.47 digs per set.
Sunday's match featured 30 ties and 15 lead changes. Set two alone saw the score tied on 12 occasions as Fairfield fought off a pair of QU set-point tries before polishing off the frame, 27-25. The third stanza also reached double-digit ties, with the final stalemate coming at 22-22 before the Bobcats ran off three in a row to take a 25-22 final.
With their backs against the wall, the Stags pulled away in Set 4 to lead by as many as six points at 23-17. The Bobcats made one last run, saving a trio of set points before Fairfield finished off a 25-22 tally to force a fifth set.
After falling behind 4-1 in the fourth set, Fairfield rallied to knot the deciding stanza at 6-6. Quinnipiac, however, won the next two points and did not surrender the lead again as the hosts powered to a 15-9 win and a 3-2 victory in the match.
Quinnipiac was the first MAAC opponent to hit over .200 against the Stags this season, finishing with a .216 mark. Elena Giacomini shouldered the load for the Bobcats with 31 kills on 68 swings (.294) with 15 digs. Yagmur Gunes added 19 kills and 13 digs. Setter Damla Gunes distributed 58 assists, and libero Carola Negron Diaz led all players with 22 digs.
Up next, the Stags conclude the home portion of the schedule next weekend with visits from Canisius and Niagara on Nov. 9-10. Fairfield celebrates Senior Day on Saturday, Nov. 9 prior to the 1 p.m. meeting with the Griffs.
