Box Score

DeKALB, Ill. - The Fairfield University volleyball team was nipped by Bradley University 3-2 (22-25, 25-21, 25-19, 17-25, 12-15) this afternoon in the Stags' opening match of the Northern Illinois Invitational. 

For Fairfield (2-5), four Stags had double-digit kills. Sophomore Alex Lopez (Fort Collins, Colo./Rocky Mountain) led the team with 13 kills while adding six digs. Senior Karlie Urbaniak (Canton, Minn./Mabel-Canton) was just shy of a double-double with 11 kills and nine digs. Rookie Kendal Dirkin (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) also had 11 kills and hit .429 for the match. Junior Katie Mann (Del Mar, Calif./Torrey Pines) chipped in with 10 kills. 

Sophomore Lauren Hughes (Costa Mesa, Calif./Mater Dei) posted nine kills and eight digs while setter Lauren Balmert (Cranberry Twp., Pa./Seneca Valley) notched 48 assists, eight digs, and five kills. 

Defensively, senior Brandi Higa (Honolulu, Hawaii/Hawaii Baptist Academy) posted 25 digs while Haililani Pokipala (Honolulu, Hawaii/Sacred Hearts Academy) added 10 digs. 

Fairfield registered a season-high attack percentage of .263 while Bradley (3-4) hit .208. The Braves out-blocked the Stags, 11-8.

After falling behind 7-2 to start the first set, Fairfield battled back pulling within three points after a Bradley error. The Braves' Kaitlyn Comiskey then put down three straight kills to make the score 11-5. Bradley used a 5-0 run to push its lead to 18-9 before Mann stopped the spurt with her third kill of the set. Trailing 19-10, Hughes sparked a 9-2 run for the Stags to pull them within two points. The Braves, however, were able to hold the Stags off taking the set, 25-22.

In the second set, the two teams traded the first six points but Bradley began to pull away, taking a 7-4 lead on a kill by Melissa Collins. Fairfield fought back and took a 10-9 lead on a service ace by Dirkin. After Dirkin was stopped by Braves block, the Stags went on a 5-1 run, capped off by a Pokipala service ace, to set the score at 15-11. Bradley used a run of its own pulling within 15-14 on a kill by Collins. The Braves erased a late six-point deficit to make the score 22-19, but Fairfield fought them off to even the match.

Fairfield carried the momentum into the third set, taking a 10-5 lead on a kill by Dirkin. Bradley clawed back taking a 14-13 lead on a kill by Genevieve Dejean and extended it to as much as three points. The Stags regrouped and tied the score 18-18 on a kill by Dirkin and moved to 21-18 on an ace by Balmert. Back-to-back kills by Urbaniak and Dirkin increased the margin to five points. A kill by the Braves' Amy Reichel stopped the run briefly at 23-19, but Dirkin slammed home her fifth kill of the set and Hughes put it away with a kill of her own. Fairfield hit an impressive .593 for the set.

With the score knotted at 8-8 in the fourth frame, Bradley began to pull away, going on top 17-12 on a kill by Collins. The Braves were able to control the rest of the way going on to take the set 25-17.

In the deciding set, the Stags trailed early but a pair of Braves attack errors put Fairfield on top 10-7. Bradley tied the score 10-10 on an ace, but Lopez returned the lead to the Stags with a kill. An attack error gave the Stags a two-point lead, but the Braves quickly tied the score on a pair of kills. Bradley pushed the lead to 14-12 after two more kills and took the match on a kill by Reichel.

Fairfield will face Loyola-Chicago later this afternoon and will take on Towson and Northern Illinois on Sept. 13. GameTracker is available for the match, for more information visit www.niuhuskies.com.