FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The final round of the Yale Invitational moved to Leo D. Mahoney Arena on Sunday as Fairfield University Volleyball hosted Villanova. The Stags took the opening set from their Big East visitors, but the Wildcats responded to take the match, 3-1, by set scores of 20-25, 25-21, 25-22 and 25-16.
With the loss, Fairfield falls to 2-7. The Stags won the opening set in all three of this weekend's contests, but ultimately fell short against the stiff competition of Colgate, Yale and Villanova. The Wildcats moved above the .500 mark at 5-4 with today's triumph.
"We're inconsistent right now, we're playing in spurts. And that isn't all that unusual for any team in the first part of the season. We're playing very good opponents and they are pushing us to be better and letting us see what we're made of," said Head Coach
Nancy Somera. "I liked how we progressed this weekend in terms of not playing our best against Colgate on Friday, but then challenging a very good Yale team in their gym yesterday and then challenging a talented Villanova team today. Of course, there's always things to work on in terms of execution, but as far as our effort and our fight, we're going to build on this weekend as we prepare for another strong opponent in St. John's on Wednesday."
Against the Wildcats, the trio of
Janna Schlageter,
Mikayla Haut and
Maya Walker shared the team high with eight kills apiece.
Allie Elliott added six finishers and
Mamie Krubally put down five. Fairfield hit .123 as a unit for the match, buoyed by Schlageter's .350 clip.
Harlan Wyche hammered three kills for the Stags and also had a hand in six of the team's 10 total blocks. Haut got a piece for four Fairfield rejections and Walker played a role in three.
The defensive effort was guided by 19 digs from libero
Kyla Berg.
Allie Elliott added seven from the back row, Schlageter chipped in six digs, as did the duo of
Abby Jandro and
Blakely Montgomery. Jandro and Montgomery shared duties at the setter spot and dished out 23 and 14 assists, respectively.
Rounding out the Fairfield scoring, Elliott served up three aces and Haut landed a pair of winners.
Villanova was led by 14 kills for Cat Young as well as 12 finishers on .417 hitting by Campbell McKinnon, who also posted seven blocks.
Two more high major opponents are on deck for the Stags. First up, Fairfield visits St. John's on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. first serve in Queens. On Friday, West Virginia visits Mahoney Arena at 5 p.m. for the first meeting of the Stags and Mountaineers since 2000.
