KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – In a match that featured 24 ties and 11 lead changes, Fairfield University Volleyball was on the wrong side of the contest's final twist, falling to Morehead State in five sets in the 2026 season opener. The Stags were led by 14 kills from
Mamie Krubally and 12 by
Emma Bortolotti. The Eagles took the 3-2 match by set scores of 25-22, 20-25, 25-19, 23-25, and 15-13.
"It's disappointing in that we had a chance to win and we didn't close it out," said Head Coach
Nancy Somera. "But as a coach, you're never disappointed about coming back from down 2-1 and putting yourselves back into a position to win. We have a lot of young players either playing college volleyball for the first time or stepping into larger roles this season. Everybody who took the court today was a contributor, and I think we've learned some things about ourselves and the volleyball team that we can be this season. We're looking forward to two more opportunities tomorrow to test ourselves and compete against teams that will make us better."
The Metro Conference Preseason Player of the Year, Krubally's 14 kills set the pace for Fairfield as the Stags hit .199 as a team. Bortolotti, who was also a Preseason All-Metro selection, rang up her dozen from the right side on .333 hitting.
Sophia Nagy had her most productive offensive day as a Stag with 10 kills from the middle at a .389 clip.
Katelyn Cook and
Harlan Wyche each added nine kills,
Aislin Oldach had six in her collegiate debut, and
Lindsey Healey chipped in two finishers on five errorless swings.
The attack was managed by
Zofia Sykut and the debuting
Noella Migliuri with 30 and 23 assists, respectively. Migliuri also accounted for two of Fairfield's seven service aces.
On the defensive side of the net, Sykut had 14 digs to complete a double-double from the setter spot.
Nicole Macalintal also finished with 14 digs, including 10 in the fourth set along as the Stags rallied to push the match to a fifth frame. Freshman libero
Julie Dufourt pitched in 12 digs and Cook recorded eight.
Bortolotti and Wyche led the effort at the net with a hand in five blocks apiece. Nagy played a role in four of the Stags' 10 rejections.
Morehead State made the first run of the match, opening the first set with a 6-2 spurt. The four-point margin held to a 12-8 count before the Stags made their first run of the season, rattling off four in a row to knot the set at 12. Wyche posted a kill and an ace during the four-point outburst. However, the Eagles were the team to surge out of the stretch with three points in a row and maintained their lead out to set point at 24-19. Fairfield held off the set win with back-to-back Cook finishers and added a point on an MSU attack error, but the Eagles ultimately found the final point they needed to take the opening stanza, 25-22. Five Stags put down multiple kills in the set, led by four apiece from Cook and Wyche.
After splitting the first 14 points of Set 2, the Stags claimed control of the frame with a 4-0 run punctuated by two Krubally kills to take an 11-7 lead. Fairfield rolled out to a double-digit lead at 23-13 and then earned set point two rallies later at 24-14. The Eagles did not go quietly, winning six consecutive points in a span that included a Stags' timeout before Fairfield put the set away, 25-20, to even the match at one apiece. Krubally headed the attack with five kills in Set 2, and Nagy had a hand in all three of Fairfield's second-set blocks.
The pivotal third frame also opened with a 7-7 deadlock, this time with Morehead State breaking the tie. The Eagles five-point run staked them to a 12-7 lead they ultimately would not relinquish, though Fairfield made a push sparked by three Bortolotti kills to close the gap to 18-16. MSU answered with points on seven of the final 10 rallies to close out a 25-20 win and take a 2-1 advantage in the contest. The Stags hit a solid .294 in the set but could not keep pace with a sizzling .486 clip from the Eagles – the only hitting percentage over .300 in a set by either team in the contest.
Fairfield fell behind 5-1 in Set 4 but quickly responded to tie the frame at the familiar score of 7-7. The Stags were unable to take a lead in the set, however, until a five-point surge that flipped an 11-14 deficit to a 16-14 edge that they held for the remainder of the frame. Bortolotti provided the hot hand with five kills on .364 hitting and three blocks, and Macalintal had 10 digs in the set as the Stags earned a 25-23 decision to push the match to a deciding fifth set.
Morehead State appeared poised to run away with the final frame, staking itself to a fast 7-3 advantage. But the Fairfield defense locked down and MSU committed a host of offensive errors as the Stags drew even at 8-8. The stalemate held to 10-10 with Fairfield emerging out of the pack with a block from Bortolotti and Wyche pushing the margin to 12-10. The Stags inched closer to victory with a 13-11 advantage, but Fairfield would not score again as the Eagles ran off the match's last four points to snag a 15-13 win in the set and a 3-2 triumph in the match.
MSU's Hollan Everett led all players with 20 kills on .241 hitting. The duo of Ella Warrick and Courtney Fitzgerald matched Fairfield's pair of Macalintal and Sykut for the match high of 14 digs.
Today's match was the first of three for Fairfield and MSU at the University of Tennessee. The Stags will play Colgate on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. and the host Lady Vols at 6 p.m.
Notes
- Three Stags made their collegiate debuts in today's match: Julie Dufourt, Noella Migliuri, and Aislin Oldach.
- Nicole Macalintal and Zofia Sykut both set new career highs with 14 digs apiece.
- Ten kills and four blocks from Sophia Nagy were both career highs for the junior.
- Harlan Wyche matched a career high with nine kills.
- Fairfield (Metro) and Morehead State (Ohio Valley) are both the preseason favorites in their respective conferences.
- Including MSU, all three teams that the Stags will play this weekend finished 2025 with a top 100 RPI.
