Oct. 15, 2006
FAIRFIELD, Conn. - Fairfield won its ninth-straight match and moved to a perfect 9-0 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) with an exciting 3-0 (30-22, 30-17, 36-34) victory against Iona this afternoon at Alumni Hall. The Stags improve to 12-6 overall while the Gaels fall to 5-13 on the year and 3-6 in the conference.
Senior Natalie Barba (Austin, Texas/Westwood) had 12 kills and two blocks assists on the day. With her block assists, Barba tied former Stag Corrine Carlson for second on the all-time list with 264.
Freshman Barbie Thistle (Bakersfield, Calif./Bakersfield) recorded nine of the Stags' 10 service aces. The nine aces are the second-high single-match total in program history and the most since 1994 when former Stag Jen McLaughlin had eight in a match. Thistle also added 42 assists, five kills, four digs and two block assists.
Junior Jazmin Pa'akaula (Hilo, Hawaii/St. Joseph) chipped in with 12 kills and nine digs while sophomore Brandi Higa (Honolulu, Hawaii/Hawaii Baptist Academy) recorded a career-high 21 digs.
Fairfield's nine-match winning streak ties a mark set by the 2004 squad for the sixth-longest streak in program history
The Stags got off to a slow start in game one and found themselves trailing 11-10. A kill by Oliver on the next play, however, sparked an 11-4 run by Fairfield which put the match out of reach for the Gaels.
Fairfield used another big run and hit .400 in the second game to cruise to a 30-17 victory.
Game three was a back-and-forth battle between the two teams with 19 ties and six lead changes. Trailing 13-9, the Stags clawed back to take a 17-16 lead on a block by Oliver and Lauren Campbell (San Diego, Calif./Mount Carmel). Fairfield extended its lead to 22-17 on an ace by Thistle, but the Gaels did not back down as Iona went on an 11-3 run to regain the lead. With the Gaels poised at 29-26, the Stags held off game point with three-straight kills by Lindsey Lee (Hilo, Hawaii/St. Joseph) to knot the game at 29-29. The two teams would exchange leads several times before a kill by Karlie Urbaniak (Canton, Minn./Mabel-Caton) followed by an attack error by Iona sealed the win for Fairfield.
Lee finished the match with eight kills and eight digs while Oliver added eight kills.
Fairfield will hit the road for its next four matches beginning with Canisius on October 21.
