Box Score

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - The Fairfield University volleyball team was topped by Big East foe Seton Hall 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-21) to wrap up competition at the Hofstra/Asics Invitational. The Pirates improve to 2-0 on the season while the Stags are 1-1. 

Sophomore Alex Lopez (Fort Collins, Colo./Rocky Mountain) and junior Katie Mann (Del Mar, Calif./Torrey Pines) led the Stags with eight kills apiece. Mann hit .500 while adding three total blocks. Lopez was named to the All-Tournament Team after averaging 3.25 kills and 2.50 digs during the invitational.

Rookie Lauren Balmert (Cranberry Twp., Pa./Seneca Valley) and senior Brandi Higa (Honolulu, Hawaii/Hawaii Baptist Academy) were the lone Stags in double digits. Balmert recorded 20 assists along with six digs while Higa posted 12 digs. 

Senior Karlie Urbaniak (Canton, Minn./Mabel-Canton) chipped in with six kills and two total blocks. 

The Stags had a tough day hitting, posting an attack percentage of .174 while the Pirates hit .312 on the afternoon. Blocks were even at four. 

In the first set, it was a one-point game until Seton Hall went on an 8-1 run to take a 13-5 lead. The Stags were unable to close the gap. 

Fairfield erased an early seven-point deficit in the second set to pull within 16-15 on a service ace by Mann. The Pirates' Sarah Osmun then put down three straight kills to stop the Stags' run and extend the lead to 19-15 putting the set just out of reach. 

In the third frame, the Stags found themselves in an early 9-3 hole. Fairfield fought its way back, tying the set 15-15 on a kill by Mann. Seton Hall's Meghan Matusiak stopped the Fairfield run on the next serve with a kill and Tricia Meyers put down three-straight kills to give the Pirates a 19-15 advantage. The Stags pulled within two points on an ace by Lopez but Seton Hall was able to hold them off.

Fairfield will travel to Philadelphia, Pa., Sept. 5-6, for the Temple Invitational. The Stags will face the host Owls, Penn, Bowling Green and Army during the tournament.