The Fairfield University volleyball team took the first step towards the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament title with a 3-0 win over #9 seed Iona College. The Stags improved to 22-6 on the year with a 30-21, 37-35, 30-18 quarterfinal win over the 8-21 Gaels.

Senior Natalie Barba had four total blocks on the night, including three block assists which broke Fairfield's career block assists record of 284 set by Laura Gleason in 1995. Barba also hit .400 for the match with seven kills on 15 attacks.

Juniors Lindsey Lee and Jazmin Pa'akaula led the way for the Stags, as each posted 11-kill, 16-dig double-doubles in the match. Pa'akaula hit .360, with just two errors on her 25 swings.

Freshman Katie Mann tallied eight kills and tied a career high with six block assists along with her eight kills and three service aces on the night. Junior Kelly Oliver added seven kills.

Freshman Barbie Thistle had 41 assists in the match while Brandi Higa added 13 digs along with her service ace, one of five for the Stags in the match.

The Stags cruised to a game one win, but the Gaels battled in game two, giving the top-seeded Stags all they could handle. The teams traded points through the first third of the match, tying at every step from 1-1 to 11-11. At that point the Gaels scored back-to-back points to pull ahead 13-11, but the Stags answered for the 13-13 tie. At 14-14 the Stags scored four straight points to take the 18-14 edge, but the Gaels rallied after a timeout to close to 22-20.

Fairfield pushed the lead back to four points, 24-20, but Iona scored six of eight points to make knot the score at 26-26. Fairfield has game point at 30-29, but could not close the set. Iona served leading 33-32, but served into the net for the tie. Fairfield took a 34-33 edge and a 35-34 edge, with Iona tying each time. The Gaels' Megan Dailey served into the net to give Fairfield a 36-35 edge, and Higa knocked home a service ace for the game two win.

Iona continued to battle in the third game, but Fairfield proved too much. After a Lee kill made the score 8-8, Fairfield scored five straight points for the 13-8 lead, and never looked back. Iona scored once to make it 13-9, and the Stags answered with a 9-3 run to put the match away.

Fairfield out-blocked Iona, 11-4, and held a 49-36 advantage in kills. The Stags hit .183 while the Gaels hit just .060.

Fairfield, winners of 19-straight, advances to the MAAC semifinal, Friday at 4 p.m., when it will take on #4 Manhattan. The Jaspers defeated the five-seed Marist, 3-0 on Thursday.