Box Score 

FAIRFIELD, Conn. - The Fairfield University volleyball team captured its third-straight win against a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opponent as the Stags knocked off Niagara, 3-0 (30-26, 30-21, 30-25), this afternoon at Alumni Hall. Fairfield, winners of six of its last seven, improves to 7-9 overall and 4-1 in the conference while Niagara drops to 3-10 overall and 1-4 in the MAAC.

Senior Kelly Oliver (San Diego, Calif./La Jolla) paced the Stags with 11 kills and 10 digs for her sixth double-double of the season. She also added three block assists.

Sophomore Katie Mann (Del Mar, Calif./Torrey Pines) notched 15 kills on .379 hitting along with three aces and two block assists. Senior Lindsey Lee (Hilo, Hawaii/St. Joseph) chipped in with 13 digs and eight kills.

Fairfield seemed to have game one in its control with a commanding 17-9 lead, but Niagara slowly began to chip away at the lead. The Purple Eagles would close the gap to 24-21 after an attack error by the Stags, but that would be as close as they would get. Game two was close at the start, but the Stags used a huge 10-2 run midway through the frame to pull out to a 25-12 lead on a kill by sophomore Barbie Thistle (Bakersfield, Calif./Bakersfield).

The final stanza was a title game with 13 ties and five lead changes. After a Niagara kill tied the score 21-21, Mann was able to shift momentum to the Stags with a kill of her own. With the Stags hanging on to a 26-25 lead, Thistle stepped to the service line and served the final four points of the match.

Thistle had a balanced effort with 44 assists, four service aces, eight digs, and three kills. Freshman Lauren Wagner (Eagan, Minn./Cretin-Derham) finished the day with seven kills and three total blocks while classmate Alex Lopez (Fort Collins, Colo./Rocky Mountain) notched 11 digs.

For the Purple Eagles, Raelean Rush registered her fourth straight double-double with 12 kills and 15 kills along with five block assists. Lauren Costello tallied seven total blocks along with six kills.

Fairfield returns to action next week when it hosts Rider on Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. followed by Loyola on Sept. 29 at 2 p.m.