The Stags continue their dominance in the MAAC as they return from a road trip that left upstate New York wondering what hit them.
The Stags took a trip up to beat Niagara on Saturday and then demolish Canisius for yet another shutout Sunday.
The Stags have been dominating the MAAC since Sept. 16 and have yet to lose a game to a MAAC opponent since then.
The Stags hold a healthy 12-1 record in the MAAC to remain in second place. Both Iona and Loyola are tangled in a tie for third place, both holding an 8-4 record in the MAAC. They both have only experienced defeat at the hands of the stellar Stag volleyball team.
“I think that the key ingredient in our success has been preparation,” said Lindsey Lee ’08. “We practice and compete hard every day and if we don’t, we run so that we’re pushed to compete at the highest level. It all starts in practice.”
The key wins over Canisius and Niagara this past weekend give the Stags a comfortable cushion over the rest of the MAAC and leave them poised to take first place from 12-0 Siena.
The Stags dropped the Niagara Purple Eagles 3-1 for their 11th MAAC win and their second win of the season over Niagara.
It may seem as though the Stags established complete control in the match-up with the two-game margin but it was not so on the court.
The Stags ran away with the first game of the match, going on an 11-1 scoring run after finding themselves locked in a 10-10 tie. The Purple Eagles fought hard in the second match, jumping to a 26-15 lead and shortly drawing the match to a 1-1 tie with a crucial kill by junior Nicole Piette.
The Stags dug down to take a 27-20 lead in game three, defeating the Eagles on a kill by junior Kelly Urbaniak. The tug of war continued in the fourth game as the Purple Eagles scored five unanswered points to tie it up at 18 points, each after an error on the Stags’ behalf.
The teams continued to fight it out and, after a Lindsey Kriger kill for the Purple Eagles, the Stags found themselves in a 28-26 hole.
Fairfield took a vital timeout and returned to the court determined to win the match. In the midst of a 31-31 tie, Urbaniak made a big kill and followed it up with a block in tandem with sophomore Katie Mann to win the game for the Stags. Setters Barbie Thistle and Ashley Hanohano were key components in the win as they each recorded double-doubles.
Thistle contributed a whopping 30 assists on the day and 17 digs, while Hanohano recorded 16 assists and 11 digs.
The win means the Stags have defeated the Purple Eagles in both of their showdowns this season. On top of that, the Stags have yet to lose to the Purple Eagles the last 16 times they have played.
On Sunday, the Stags rolled into and over Canisius as they shut out the team 3-0.
Canisius made each of the three games close but failed to take one from the Stags.
Urbaniak came up big again with 13 kills on the day but it was Mann who slaughtered the Griffins with a career-high 23 kills.
Freshman Alex Lopez missed her first career double-double by a kill with her 10 digs and 9 kills.
Thistle made a major contribution again with a monstrous 53 assists along with eight digs and five kills.
Canisius tied the first game up late at 27-27 and battled to make the game 29-28 but Mann made the game winning kill on an assist by Thistle.
After starting out slow and behind in game two, the Stags rallied to a 20-16 lead and eventually a 30-25 win.
In the third game, the Stags reached to a 28-18 lead. The Griffins fought for a 5-0 run, threatening to rally, but the Stags quickly squelched any rallying thoughts the Griffins may have had to win the third and final game of the match 30-24.
“They were true team efforts and everyone contributed so it’s definitely giving confidence for this week’s practice,” said Lee.
Fairfield has its most important game of the season on Wednesday, Oct. 24 against the Siena Saints at Alumni Hall.
The undefeated Saints (12-0 MAAC) are responsible for the Stags’ only MAAC loss of the season.
“I have nothing but excitement and confidence going into the match against Siena,” said Thistle. “It is home this time so that will hopefully help fire us up, and I know that I am tired of losing to Siena and I hope the team feels the same way.”
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