Oct. 14, 2006
FAIRFIELD, Conn. - Junior Lindsey Lee (Hilo, Hawaii/St. Joseph) tallied her 1,000th career kill and posted her 12th double-double of the year to help Fairfield to a 3-0 (30-21, 30-26, 30-21) victory against Marist this afternoon. The Stags, winners of eight straight, improve to 11-6 on the season and 8-0 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) while the Red Foxes fall to 4-14 on the year and 2-7 in the conference.
Lee finished the day with 16 kills and 16 digs, on .353 hitting, and had a career-high four service aces. She is the seventh Stag to record 1,000 career kills and only the fifth to register 1,000 career kills and 1,000 digs. Lee reached career dig milestone earlier this season against Saint Peter's.
Freshman Katie Mann (Del Mar, Calif./Torrey Pines) was also in double digits with a career-high 14 kills, on a career-best .750 hitting, to go along with her five total blocks. Senior Natalie Barba (Austin, Texas/Westwood) had nine kills and two blocks assists on the day. With 262 career block assists, Barba moved within three block assists from surpassing former Stag Corrine Carlson for second on the all-time list.
Trailing 15-14 in the first game, the Stags went on a 5-1 spurt to gain a 19-16 advantage. The Red Foxes used a run of their own to knot the game at 19-19 on a kill by Christy Lukes. Fairfield went on to outscore Marist, 11-2, the rest of the way for the win. During the span, Lee posted her historic kill on the 27th point of the game.
Junior Kelly Oliver (San Diego, Calif./La Jolla) served the first six points of the second frame, but the Stags' lead did not last long as Marist clawed back to take a 9-8 lead on a block. The two teams would tie again at 10-10, but an ace by sophomore Brandi Higa (Honolulu, Hawaii/Hawaii Baptist Academy) on the following point gave Fairfield the lead to stay.
In the final game, the two teams were tied at 9-9 but the Stags went on a 4-0 burst and never looked back.
Junior Jazmin Pa'akaula (Hilo, Hawaii/St. Joseph) added 16 digs along with five kills while freshman Barbie Thistle (Bakersfield, Calif./Bakersfield) had 47 assists and four kills.
For Marist, senior Sally Hanson also reached the 1,000-career kill plateau in the first game. She finished the match with seven kills. Alexandra Schultze had a team-high nine kills while Kim McEathron had nine digs. Setter Dawn Jan recorded 27 assists.
Fairfield held Marist to a .143 attack percentage and out-blocked the Red Foxes 8-5.
Fairfield continues its homestand tomorrow, Oct. 15, as the Stags host Iona at 2 p.m. in Alumni Hall.
