Oct. 8, 2006
FAIRFIELD, Conn. - Fairfield won its seventh-straight match and improved to 7-0 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) as the Stags cruised to a 3-0 (30-12, 30-24, 30-16) victory against Loyola (5-17, 3-5 MAAC) this afternoon at Alumni Hall.
Fairfield (10-6) received double-double efforts from juniors Jazmin Pa'akaula (Hilo, Hawaii/St. Joseph) and Lindsey Lee (Hilo, Hawaii/St. Joseph) while three other Stags were in double figures.
Pa'akaula tallied her fourth double-double of the year with 15 kills and 12 digs, both match highs, along with four blocks assists. She also hit .609 on the day. For the second-straight match, Lee tallied a double-double, recording 11 kills and 10 digs. Lee is just four kills away from reaching 1,000 for her career. She will become the seventh Stag to record 1,000 kills and just the five to reach the century mark in both kills and digs.
Senior Natalie Barba (Austin, Texas/Westwood) had another outstanding day for the Stags notching 10 kills, a .471 attack percentage, five total blocks and two digs. With her blocks, Barba moved into sole possession of third place on Fairfield's total blocks list with 309 for her career. She is also just four block assists shy of tying former Stags Corrine Carlson for second on the all-time list.
Freshman Barbie Thistle (Bakersfield, Calif./Bakersfield) posted five aces on the day along with 42 assists, seven kills and five digs. Sophomore Brandi Higa (Honolulu, Hawaii/Hawaii Baptist Academy) was also in double figures with 11 digs.
The Stags set the tone early as Thistle served the first six points of the match. A pair of attack errors by Fairfield stopped the run but the Stags would rattle off the next six points to take a 12-2 advantage and never look back.
Loyola opened up a 7-3 lead to start the second game, but Fairfield rallied to tie the game, 12-12. The two teams would exchange the next few points before the score rested at 23-23. A kill by junior Kelly Oliver (San Diego, Calif./La Jolla) would put the Stags ahead 24-23 and spark a 6-1 run to victory.
Thistle again set the tone as she served the first five points of the final game. That would be all the Stags needed as they cruised to a 30-16 win.
As a team, the Stags hit .377 on the day while holding the Greyhounds to a .053 attack percentage. Fairfield also tallied 56 kills while Loyola had just 28. Additionally, the Stags out-blocked the Greyhounds, 8-1, and held a 51-38 advantage in digs and a 9-1 advantage in service aces.
Fairfield continues its homestand next weekend when the Stags host Marist on Oct. 14 and Iona on Oct. 15. Both matches are set to begin at 2 p.m. in Alumni Hall.
