Box Score

FAIRFIELD, Conn. - The Fairfield University volleyball team completed the season sweep of Saint Peter's College this afternoon with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-16) victory at Alumni Hall. With the win, the Stags move to 13-10 on the season and 11-1 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). 

Junior Katie Mann (Del Mar, Calif.) led the attack with 14 kills on .650 hitting. She also had a solo block and two block assists. With her block assists, she surpassed former Stag Kristin Anderson for fourth all-time on the career chart (253). 

Senior Karlie Urbaniak (Canton, Minn.) was strong on the serve recording a career-high six service aces. She also tallied 10 digs and six kills on .316 hitting. Freshman Kendal Dirkin (Oak Park, Ill.) finished with seven kills while sophomore Alex Lopez (Fort Collins, Colo.) registered seven kills and 10 digs.

Senior Brandi Higa (Honolulu, Hawaii) had 13 digs while rookie Lauren Balmert (Cranberry Twp., Pa.) recorded 35 assists, five digs, and four total blocks. Sophomore Lauren Hughes (Costa Mesa, Calif.) chipped in with five kills and six digs while freshman Haililani Pokipala (Honolulu, Hawaii) added five digs. 

Fairfield hit .248 for the match while holding Saint Peter's (11-14; 5-6 MAAC) to an attack percentage of .125. For the third time this season, the Stags recorded 11 service aces in a match. They also out-blocked the Peahens, 6-3. 

The first set was tight with 16 ties and eight lead changes. Fairfield was trailing 16-13 when the Stags surged back to tie the match 16-16 on a Dirkin kill. Fairfield would overcome three two-point deficits late in the match, finally tying things up at 22-22 on ace by Urbaniak.  A blast by Mann gave the Stags the 23-22 lead but a kill by the Peahens' Caroline Garvey tied the frame on the next possession. The Stags recovered as Balmert and Lopez closed things out with kills for the 25-23. 

Fairfield carried the momentum of the opening stanza into the second set. Urbaniak served five-straight points, which included three aces, to give the Stags an early 6-1 lead. The Peahens narrowed the gap to 10-9 but Fairfield went on a 9-3 run to gain ground. The Stags extended their lead to 22-14 on an ace by Mann and closed out the frame by taking three of the final four points for the 25-15 win. 

Urbaniak started the third set off with a kill and then stepped to the line to serve the next seven points to give Fairfield an 8-0 lead. Trailing 12-2, Saint Peter's used a run of its own to pull within five points, but Dirkin stopped the run with a kill. The Stags controlled the rest of the way for the 25-16 win.

Fairfield returns to action tomorrow, Oct. 26, as it hosts non-conference foe Northeastern at 4 p.m. in Alumni Hall.