Box Score

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - The Fairfield University volleyball team suffered its first conference loss of the season and had its winning streak halted at nine matches as Iona College posted a 3-1 (25-19, 22-25, 18-25, 14-25) victory over the Stags this afternoon. With the loss, Fairfield falls to 11-10 overall and 9-1 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) while Iona improves to 14-8 on the year and 6-4 in the league. 

Sophomore Alex Lopez (Fort Collins, Colo.) recorded her second-straight double-double with 17 kills and 13 digs. Freshman Kendal Dirkin (Oak Park, Ill.) added nine kills while junior Katie Mann (Del Mar, Calif.) chipped in with seven. Setter Lauren Balmert (Cranberry Twp., Pa.) had 36 assists, six digs, and four kills. 

Defensively, senior Brandi Higa (Honolulu, Hawaii) notched 22 digs while senior Karlie Urbaniak (Canton, Minn.) added 17.

The first set was a back-and-forth battle. With the score tied 11-11, Fairfield went on a 5-1 run which was capped off by a Lopez service ace. The Stags quickly extended their lead to 20-15 on a kill by Mann and hung on for the win.

The Gaels came out strong in the second stanza taking a 7-2 advantage and a lead in which they would not relinquish. Trailing 24-18, Fairfield mounted a late comeback rattling off four-straight points to pull within 24-22. Iona was able to stave off the Stags as Rachelle Wilson closed the set with a kill.

Iona started the third set in a similar fashion, pushing out to a 7-2 lead. Fairfield pulled within 7-6 on a kill by Dirkin, but the Gaels went on a 6-1 run and never looked back. In the fourth set, the two teams battled to a 5-5 tie when Iona used a 4-0 burst to take the lead. The Gaels extended the margin to 14-7 on a kill by Molly O'Shea and went on to take the set 25-14.

Sophomore Lauren Hughes (Costa Mesa, Calif.) collected six kills and four digs for the Stags while freshman Haililani Pokipala (Honolulu, Hawaii) added five digs.

Iona had several Gaels in double figures offensively and defensively including Whitten who had 10 kills and 12 digs for a double-double. Iona out-blocked Fairfield, 12.5-2. The Stags were held to a .123 attack percentage while the Gaels is a collective .252.

Fairfield concludes its road swing on Oct. 24 at Rider at 7p.m. The Stags then return home to host St. Peter's on Oct. 25 at 2p.m. and non-conference foe Northeastern on Oct. 26 at 4 p.m.