FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Volleyball defeated visiting Saint Peter's, 3-2, on Friday evening at Leo D. Mahoney Arena as the Stags took the first two sets and then fought off the surging Peacocks to take the match in a deciding fifth frame. Fairfield earned the victory by set scores of 25-17, 25-21, 20-25, 23-25 and 15-11.
The win moved the Stags to 12-5 overall and 6-0 in Metro play. Saint Peter's fell to 5-13 overall and 4-2 in conference action.
Mamie Krubally led the Stags with 15 kills on .355 hitting from the right side.
Harlan Wyche hammered a career-high 14 kills from the middle, and
Katelyn Cook had a season-best 14 finishers on the left as five Stags in total reached double-digit kills.
Aislin Oldach put down 13 kills and
Sophia Nagy reached a new career standard with 11, hitting .667 for the Stags.
Emma Bortolotti added eight kills, and
Noella Migliuri dumped over one to round out the attack.
Migliuri and
Zofia Sykut paced the offense to a .352 hitting percentage. Sykut distributed 36 assists, Migliuri had 22, and
Natalie Carlin pitched in five helpers in a DS role.
Fairfield controlled the action at the net with 12 blocks –reaching a dozen blocks for the fourth consecutive match.
Harlan Wyche had a hand in eight rejections, improving her Metro Conference leading totals to 97 blocks and 1.45 blocks per set. Oldach got a piece of a career-best five stuffs while Nagy put down four, including a solo sendback.
In the back row, Carlin led all players with 16 digs with Cook and Migliuri each contributing 11 digs.
Fairfield established control early in the opening set, using a kill from Oldach and a Cook service ace to get started. Another Cook kill and a Migliuri ace extended the lead to 6-2. Although Saint Peter's pulled within one at 7-6, consecutive kills from
Emma Bortolotti, Nagy and Cook restored a four-point advantage. The Stags maintained their momentum as Krubally recorded back-to-back kills around a Peacocks' attack error to make it 15-10. Bortolotti added three kills during the ensuing stretch to help preserve the lead and ultimately secured the 25-17 win.
Saint Peter's opened the second set with a 6-3 lead, but the Stags fought back to tie the score at 7-7 behind kills from Bortolotti and a service ace from Oldach. The teams traded to a 13-13 deadlock, at which point Oldach put Fairfield back in front, and Migliuri then served through a four-point run that gave the Stags an 18-13 lead. Saint Peter's later cut the deficit to 23-20, but Krubally delivered a kill for set point before Wyche finished the frame with a kill to ice a 25-21 victory and a 2-0 match lead.
Saint Peter's responded in the third set, jumping ahead 5-2 before Fairfield battled back to tie the score at 7-7 on a Cook kill and two Nagy finishers. Krubally and Wyche teamed up for a block to even the score at 9-9. The momentum shifted when Saint Peter's put together six consecutive points, including two kills from Julia Whaley and a service ace by Valeria Pagan Munoz, to take a 16-11 advantage. Fairfield trimmed the margin to 17-14 with help from a Saint Peter's service error and a block by Nagy and Bortolotti, but the visitors held on to win the set, 25-20, extending the match.
The Stags shook off the setback early in the fourth set, opening with a 5-3 lead behind three Oldach kills, a Carlin service ace and a Wyche kill. SPU answered with a mid-set run to take a 10-7 advantage before extending the lead to 16-11 on a Meleksu Ozmen ace.
Fairfield responded with four straight points, highlighted by a Wyche-Oldach block and an Oldach service ace, then pulled even at 19-19 on a Sykut ace. Saint Peter's regained the advantage at 22-19, and although the Stags fought back to within 24-23 on another block from Oldach and Wyche, the visitors closed out the set, 25-23, force a deciding fifth stanza.
In the fifth, Fairfield opened with kills from Cook and Krubally, but Saint Peter's tied the score at 3-3 on a service ace from Alicia Valladares. The teams remained even through 7-7 before Cook's kill put the Stags ahead. Sykut then served through a stretch featuring three Peacock errors, helping Fairfield build an 11-7 lead.
Saint Peter's did not go quietly, closing the gap to 11-10. Cook answered the surge with a kill, and Oldach followed with another to steady the Stags. Wyche's career-best 14 kills put the match in the books with Fairfield taking the set, 15-11, and the match, 3-2.
Saint Peter's was led by Pruvost, who recorded 15 kills, four digs and two blocks. Karolina Rodriguez Mendez added 15 kills on.583 hitting for the visitors.
Fairfield returns to Leo D. Mahoney Arena tomorrow – Saturday, Oct. 10 – when the Stags host Rider at 4 p.m. Admission is free for all fans to all Fairfield Volleyball regular season home matches this season.
