The Fairfield University Volleyball team staged a convincing defense of home court at Leo D. Mahoney Arena last weekend, dispatching conference opponents Canisius College and Niagara University in straight sets.
The two game slate began on Saturday against the Golden Griffins. After falling behind early in the first set, the Stags quickly regained control thanks to a 7-0 service run from senior Noelle Carey ‘24, and rode that momentum all the way through a dominant second set that saw a final score of 25-9.
Canisius responded to make things close in the third, tying the frame at 23 apiece, but the Stags clutched out the last two points to seal the win. The success came off the back of a diverse scoring attack that saw six hitters register four or more kills, led by outside hitter Svenja Rodenbüsch ‘25 with eight.
“I was very happy with the balance we had on offense,” first year head coach Nancy Somera said, according to the game’s official press release. “All six hitters were involved, and that’s a credit to them as well as our setters distributing the ball and our passers for keeping us in system.”
The victory over Canisius also marked the 300th career win as a coach for Somera, who has spent time at Oregon State, South Carolina, and Division III Johnson & Wales as part of her illustrious collegiate coaching career.
The Stags then faced a quick turnaround, taking on Niagara just a day later on Sunday afternoon. The lack of prep time clearly wasn’t a factor, however, as the team raced out to a convincing 25-11 first set win over the Purple Eagles.
The visitors kept things interesting in the second set, which ended 25-20 in favor of Fairfield, but ultimately couldn’t keep pace after the Stags laid the hammer down in the third with a convincing 10 point run.
The same balanced hitting that gave the Stags the advantage over Canisius shone through again. Six hitters tallied over five kills, this time led by outside hitter Mikayla Haut ‘25 and middle blocker Maya Walker ‘26, who recorded eight each.
The Stags will carry the 2-0 start to conference play on the road to New York this weekend, where they’ll square off with Siena and Marist in another Saturday-Sunday back-to-back.
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