Volleyball Topped By Siena 3-0 In MAAC Championship Final
Nov 24, 2008
LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - Another year, another crushing defeat for the Fairfield University volleyball team in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championship final. The top-seeded Stags fell to second-seeded Siena College, 3-0 (25-27, 17-25, 23-25) this evening at UHY Court at the Alumni Recreation Complex. It is the fourth straight year in which Fairfield (20-13) has fallen to Siena (20-12) in the MAAC Championship final.
Senior Karlie Urbaniak (Canton, Minn.) and junior Katie Mann (Del Mar, Calif.) were named to the MAAC All-Tournament Team. Urbaniak had eight kills and six digs in her final collegiate match while Mann tallied a match-high 16 kills and six total blocks.
Senior Brandi Higa (Honolulu, Hawaii) recorded 19 digs in her final match as a Stag. She brought her season dig total to 525, the second-highest single season total in program history. Higa also finishes her career with 1,334 digs which is good for sixth all-time at Fairfield.
Fairfield came out strong in the first set, opening up a 20-15 lead. Siena stormed back using a 6-2 run to pull within 22-21 on a kill by Burgandy McCurty. The Saints then tied the score 23-23 on a kill by Kelly Hummel. A kill by Mann put the Stags on top 24-23 but a kill by Hummel retied the score. With the score sitting at 25-25, McCurty gave the Saints the lead with a kill and Amanda Begin gave them the win an ace. The Stags hit .333 for the set while the Saints hit .400
The Saints carried the momentum into the second frame, opening up a 15-5 lead. The Stags cut the gap to 19-16 on a kill by Mann but Siena closed out the set on a 6-1 run to take a two-game lead.
The third set was the closet stanza of the night with 12 ties and four lead changes. Fairfield trailed 23-22 but a kill by Mann tied things up. Hummel answered with her 13th kill of the night to set up match point which came on an attack error by the Stags.
Fairfield out-blocked Siena, 9-4. The Saints hit .222 while the Stags hit .222. McCurty recorded her 15th double-double of the season with 13 kills and 12 digs while April London notched a double-double with 35 assists and 10 digs.
Sophomore Alex Lopez (Fort Collins, Colo.) and freshman Kendal Dirkin (Oak Park, Ill.) each finished with four kills while freshman Lauren Balmert (Cranberry Twp., Pa.) tallied 32 assists and five digs. Sophomore Lauren Hughes (Costa Mesa, Calif.) chipped in with three total blocks while freshman Haililani Pokipala (Honolulu, Hawaii) notched four aces and seven digs.
