NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – Fairfield University Volleyball kicked off the Metro Conference portion of the 2026 season with a 3-1 victory at Niagara on Friday evening in Western New York.
Mamie Krubally led the Stags' attack with 15 kills. Fairfield took the match by scores of 25-17, 25-19, 22-25, and 25-17.
With the win, the Stags improve to 7-5 overall. The three-time reigning champions of the Metro Conference have won nine straight conference matches dating back to 2025 and 11 consecutive wins against league foes in total, including last season's conference tournament.
Niagara fell to 1-8 with the home setback.
Krubally's 15 kills came on .500 hitting – the third time in her last four matches that the Metro Conference Preseason Player of the Year has hit .500 with double-digit kills.
Emma Bortolotti also reached double figures with 11 kills from the side. Bortolotti also led all players with 15 digs to complete a double-double.
Fairfield's balanced attack featured seven players with four of more kills.
Sophia Nagy had eight from the middle and
Julie Dufourt recorded a career-best seven swinging from the pins.
Aislin Oldach also notched seven finishers, and
Harlan Wyche added five.
Zofia Sykut ran the attack to a .290 clip with a career-high 44 assists and also dumped over four kills of her own.
The Stags supplemented the scoring effort with seven service aces. Wyche and Dufourt each landed a pair of winners.
Defensively, Bortolotti's 15 digs marked a new career standard for the sophomore right side. Dufourt matched her career high in the back row with 12 digs, and libero
Katelyn Cook had 10. Sykut was just shy of a double-double with nine digs from the setter spot.
The effort at the net was led by Wyche with five blocks. The junior middle shares the Metro Conference lead with 60 blocks this season. Krubally had a hand in four rejections, and Sykut was a part of two. The Fairfield defense limited Niagara to a .142 hitting percentage in total.
Karlotta Kattai led the Purple Eagles with 14 kills and 11 digs.
The back half of the Western New York swing sends the Stags to Buffalo for a clash at Canisius on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 2 p.m. The Griffs are 1-8 overall and 0-1 in the Metro after a home loss to Sacred Heart this evening at the Koessler Athletic Center.
