Box Score

FAIRFIELD, Conn. -  The Fairfield University volleyball team won its fifth straight match and remained undefeated in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 27-25) victory over Niagara University in Alumni Hall this afternoon. 

Junior Katie Mann (Del Mar, Calif./Torrey Pines) paced the Stags attack with 17 kills on .421 hitting. The middle committed just one attack error in 38 attempts. She also added five digs and three total blocks. 

Rookie Lauren Balmert (Cranberry Twp., Pa./Seneca Valley) was a dig shy of a double-double recording 28 assists and nine digs.  

Defensively, three Stags were in double-digits. Senior Brandi Higa (Honolulu, Hawaii/Hawaii Baptist Academy) tallied 16 digs while freshman Haililani Pokipala (Honolulu, Hawaii/Sacred Hearts Academy) chipped in with 10. Senior Karlie Urbaniak (Canton, Minn./Mabel-Canton) posted 11 digs in addition to six kills and a career-best three service aces. 

Fairfield (7-9, 5-0 MAAC) hit .198 for the match while Niagara (3-13, 1-4 MAAC) hit .108. The Stags out-blocked the Purple Eagles, 4-3, and held an 8-7 advantage in service aces. 

Niagara started the first set with a 5-1 run, but Mann stopped the spurt with a kill. Urbaniak then stepped to the line and served eight-straight points to put the Stags ahead 10-5. The Purple Eagles came back to tie the score, 14-14, but Fairfield closed out the frame on an 11-3 run. The Stags hit .357 for the set while holding the Purple Eagles to an attack percentage of .026. 

Fairfield opened up an 11-4 advantage to start the second frame, but Niagara clawed back to tie the score, 16-16. Shannon Ryan and Kathy Bibler gave the Purple Eagles the lead with a block but Mann and Alex Lopez (Fort Collins, Colo.) responded with a block of their own. Mann then served the next four points to give the Stags a 21-17 lead. Niagara answered with four straight points to tie the set 21-21. The two teams tied once again at 22-22 but a kill by Lopez put the Stags ahead to stay. 

Niagara led throughout much of the third stanza, pushing out to a 22-18 lead. Fairfield surged back with a 4-0 run to knot the set. The Stags soon had match point in sight after a kill by Mann, but back-to-back kills from Ryan and Holly Allgeier gave the Purple Eagles a 25-24 lead. Mann answered with her 17th kill of the day to tie the score, 25-25. Fairfield then took advantage of a pair of Niagara attack errors for the 27-25 win. 

Fairfield returns to action tomorrow, Oct. 5, as it hosts Canisius College at 2 p.m. in Alumni Hall.