VILLANOVA, Pa. – After 22 ties and nine lead changes over the course of five back-and-forth sets, Fairfield University Volleyball took a 3-2 victory from reigning Big South Champion High Point in Friday action at the Villanova Classic. Katelyn Cook and Allie Elliott each recorded a double-double for the Stags. Fairfield took the match by set scores of 19-25, 25-23, 21-25, 27-25 and 15-13.

"At this point in the season, most teams are still figuring out their identity. But I think being a team that wins close sets and close matches is a good identity to have," said Head Coach Nancy Somera. "We weren't at our best tonight, especially early. But we kept fighting and winning enough points while we made adjustments and worked through some rough patches. And in the fourth and fifth sets, some players stepped up offensively and defensively to pull out a win against a very tough opponent."

With the win, the Stags improve to 3-1. Fairfield has played three five-set matches already in 2025, defeating Towson and High Point while falling to West Virginia in five frames. High Point slips to 1-3 on the young season. The Panthers have won back-to-back Big South Championships and are the conference's preseason favorite for the ninth consecutive campaign.
 
Katelyn Cook paced the offense and the defense, putting down 14 kills on .229 hitting to go along with 22 digs. Allie Elliott, the reigning MAAC Player of the Week, extended her double-double streak to four matches with 10 kills and 15 digs and also dropped in four service aces. Mamie Krubally joined them in double digits with 12 kills, notching five of her dozen in the match's final two stanzas.
 
The attack was supplemented by six kills for Maya Walker, five by Harlan Wyche, four by Emma Bortolotti, and one apiece form Sophia Nagy, Lindsey Healey, and Abby Jandro.
 
Jandro and Zofia Sykut engineered the offense from the setter spot, finishing with 30 and 10 assists, respectively.
 
Defensively, the Stags piled up a season-best 13 blocks. Wyche, who entered the day leading the MAAC with 16 blocks and 1.33 blocks per set, had a hand in seven rejections. Walker and Krubally each got a piece of six stuffs, and Cook was a part of three blocks. In the back row, Delaney Moon chipped in 12 digs, with Natalie Carlin and Jandro each picking up nine.
 
High Point was paced by Ryley Boyne with 17 kills and 13 from Gia Padilla. Panthers' libero Kea Whillock led all players with 20 digs.
 
Fairfield Volleyball is back in action on Saturday at 4 p.m. against host Villanova; The Wildcats, who are currently in action against Yale, enter their home tournament with a record of 2-0.