Box Score

FAIRFIELD, Conn. - Junior Katie Mann (Del Mar, Calif./Torrey Pines) and sophomore Alex Lopez (Fort Collins, Colo./Rocky Mountain) each had 11 kills to help power the Fairfield University volleyball team to its sixth-straight victory and a perfect 6-0 mark in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) this afternoon with a 3-0 (25-12, 25-23, 27-23) win over Canisius College at Alumni Hall.

Mann, who has reached double-digit kills in each of her last four matches, hit .371 on the day, committing just one attack error in 27 attempts. She also added five digs, four aces, and two total blocks. Lopez, meanwhile, had five digs and a block in addition to her kills. 

Sophomore Lauren Hughes (Costa Mesa, Calif./Mater Dei) chipped in with eight kills while rookie Kendal Dirkin (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park & River Forest) tallied six kills. Setter Lauren Balmert (Cranberry Twp., Pa./Seneca Valley) assisted on 36 of Fairfield's 42 kills while notching five kills of her own. Balmert also had seven digs and three aces.

Defensively, senior Karlie Urbaniak (Canton, Minn./Mabel-Canton) registered a match-high 16 digs while classmate Brandi Higa (Honolulu, Hawaii/Hawaii Baptist Academy) added 13. Freshman Haililani Pokipala (Honolulu, Hawaii/Sacred Hearts Academy) had nine digs.

Canisius (9-6, 4-2 MAAC) was held to a .089 attack percentage on the day while Fairfield (8-9, 6-0 MAAC) hit .268. Fairfield also notched 11 services in the match. The Griffs out-blocked the Stags, 4-3, and had two players in double figures defensively. Morgan Ammons tallied 12 digs while Sarah Podlesh added 11 digs. Janelle Davis was the only other Griff in double-digits with 16 assists.

In the first set, Lopez put home a feed from Balmert to give the Stags an early 9-4 lead. Mann then stepped to the line and served eight-straight points to open up a 17-4 margin. The Griffs, who hit -.026 for the frame, were unable to recover.

With the score tied, 13-13, in the second stanza, the Stags went on a 6-1 tear to gain some ground. After a Mann kill made the score 24-20 Fairfield seemed to have the set in hand, but Canisius held off set point three times, to pull within 24-23 on a kill by Brittany Gerde. Fairfield was able to stave off the comeback as Mann put the set away with a kill.

The score was tied 7-7 in the third frame when the Stags went on a 4-0 run behind the service of Lopez. Fairfield quickly pushed out to a 22-11 lead thanks in part to five straight points served by Mann. Canisius briefly stopped the run with a pair of kills but Lopez responded with her 11th kill of the match while Balmert closed things out with a pair of service aces.

Fairfield will head to Siena on Oct. 11 before returning home to host Loyola on Oct. 12.