FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Volleyball flipped a 22-16 deficit to a 26-24 victory in Set 3 to polish off a sweep of visiting Canisius on Senior Day at Leo D. Mahoney Arena. Allie Elliott put down 12 kills and Janna Schlageter had 11 finishers on .588 hitting in the contest.
 
With the win, Fairfield improved to 16-11 overall and 14-1 in the MAAC. The Stags officially clinched a top-four seed in the MAAC Championship – and a bye to the quarterfinals – with the victory. With one more win, the Stags will also lock down at least a share of their 23rd MAAC Regular Season Championship. The loss dropped Canisius to 14-12 on the year with a 10-5 MAAC tally.
 
"This part of the season is about finding ways to win, and today we won Set 2 despite hitting .051 and we won Set 3 after trailing 22-16," said Head Coach Nancy Somera. "Of course, we'll continue to work and improve, but at the end of the day, we just need to keep our intensity up and keep believing in each other and finding ways to win."
 
After using a 7-0 run to turn a 15-14 deficit to a 21-15 lead in Set 1, the Stags rolled to a 25-17 win to take an early lead in the match. That frame proved to be the most lopsided of the three, as the second stanza featured 12 ties and six lead changes. Fairfield trailed 20-16 deep into the set before running of four straight to knot the game at 20-20. The deadlock held to 23-23, when Blakely Montgomery went over on two and Canisius put one into the net to give the frame to the Stags, 25-23.
 
The match seemed bound for a fourth set, with Canisius taking a quick 7-3 lead and holding that advantage all the way to 22-16. At that juncture, a service error and hitting error got the score moving the right direction for Fairfield. Schlageter then added a kill at the end of a wild rally, Elliott put down back-to-back finishers, and another errant Canisius swing brought the Stags all the way back at 22-22.
 
Canisius righted the ship and regained the lead with a Lauren Hubert kill on the next point before Elliott and Schlageter went back-to-back again to bring the contest to match point at 24-23 in favor of the Stags. The Griffs fought one match point and tied the match at 24-24 before the Stags went back to the well with kills by Schlageter and Elliott to close out the 26-24 win and 3-0 sweep in the match.
 
In addition to the 23 combined kills by Elliott and Schlageter, Svenja Rodenbüsch posted eight kills on .500 hitting from the outside. Maya Walker added seven, Mikayla Haut had six and Emma Beretich recorded four. Fairfield hit .259 for the match with Montgomery and Abby Jandro distributing 24 and 15 assists, respectively.
 
Defensively, Noelle Carey celebrated her final home weekend with a match-best 17 digs. Elliott added 10 to complete her double-double and Kyla Berg picked up nine from the libero spot. At the net, Walker had a hand in five of the Stags' six team blocks, and Rodenbüsch got a piece of three rejections.
 
Kara Zaucha led the Griffs with 11 kills swinging at a .435 clip. Jillian Hanna recorded 13 digs and served up three aces for the visitors.
 
Up next, the Stags wrap up the 2024 home schedule with a Sunday visit from Niagara. The Purple Eagles are 13-12 overall and 9-5 in the MAAC with a match at Sacred Heart on tap for 6 p.m. tonight.