Volleyball Tops Iona 3-1 To Advance To MAAC Championship Final
Nov 23, 2008
LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - The Fairfield University volleyball team is headed to its fifth straight Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championship final after defeating fourth-seeded Iona College, 3-1 (25-23, 25-10, 23-25, 25-15) in this afternoon's semifinals at UHY Court at the Alumni Recreation Complex.
Top-seeded Fairfield (20-12) will face second-seeded Siena in tomorrow's MAAC Championship final at 7 p.m. The match will air live on ESPNU. It is the fourth season in a row in which Fairfield and Siena will battle for the MAAC Championship crown.
Three Stags had doubles-doubles to secure Fairfield's fourth 20-win season in five years. Sophomore Alex Lopez (Fort Collins, Colo.) posted her 12th double-double of the year with 18 kills and 12 digs while senior Karlie Urbaniak (Canton, Minn.) notched her seventh double-double with 10 kills and a career high 23 digs. Freshman Lauren Balmert (Cranberry Twp., Pa.) notched her 11th double-double with 43 assists and 11 digs.
First Team All-MAAC selection Katie Mann (Del Mar, Calif.) added 13 kills and four total blocks while sophomore Lauren Hughes (Costa Mesa, Calif.) chipped in with 11 kills. Defensively, senior Brandi Higa (Honolulu, Hawaii) tallied 27 digs.
Fairfield trailed early in the first set but a 9-1 run sparked by a Hughes kill put the Stags on top, 12-7. The Gaels (19-12) closed the gap to 20-19 on a kill by Sarah Wiener, but Dirkin answered with a kill to the back corner to return the lead to two points. Iona continued to chip away at the lead holding off set point twice to put the score at 24-23 and prompt a Fairfield timeout. Out of the break, Mann gave the Stags the 25-23 win by slamming home an overpass.
The Stags came out strong in the second stanza opening up a 16-3 lead, which included a string of eight straight points. Molly O'Shea stopped the Fairfield run with a kill but the Stags controlled the rest of the way for the 25-10 win.
Iona opened the third set with a 12-6 push, but Urbaniak stopped the run with a kill. Fairfield trailed by as much as eight points when the Stags mounted an impressive comeback cutting the gap to 16-15 on a kill by Hughes. The Stags tied things up on a kill by Hughes and took the 17-16 lead on an attack error by the Gaels. Iona stopped the 9-0 run on a kill by Colleen Gennett on the next play. With the score tied 23-23, Iona took the lead on a block by Paulus and Rachelle Wilson and won the set 25-23 on kill by Wilson.
The Stags rebounded in the fourth set by starting things off with an 8-2 lead and never looking back. Fairfield went on to take the set, 25-15.
For complete MAAC Championship coverage, log-on to www.maacsports.com.
