Fairfield University Volleyball (7-4) continues to rack up wins in their now six game win streak. On Saturday, Sept. 28 the Stags hosted Quinnipiac University (4-7) and defeated them in three consecutive sets to secure the win in the Stags first home match since Sept. 14, 2019. 

Wanting to “come out strong and defend home court”, the team was “really excited to play at home again and wanted to make a statement coming out,” as said by Sonja Radulovic ‘20 of Fairfield. 

That is what they did. Through great team communication and support, the Stags quickly developed a 9-3 lead in the first set, forcing Quinnipiac to call an early timeout that would ultimately be ineffective at slowing down Fairfield. Fairfield would win the first set 25-17.

The second and third sets were a little tougher on Fairfield as they struggled to gain a strong lead in either set. There was a time in both sets where it seemed like Quinnipiac was going to win. However, the Stags came up clutch at the end of each set to win 25-22 and 25-21.

Offensively, Fairfield was led by Mayda Garcia ‘20, who had 14 kills throughout the sets, as well as Laura Seeger ‘22 who had ten and Joelle Battles ‘23 who had eight. 

In the back row, the Stags were led by rookie Morgan Doll who recorded 19 digs and Radulovic who had nine.

Junior Luci Albertson, Kaylie Butts ‘21 and Manuela Nicolini ‘20 also contributed to the team’s defensive play with four, five and three total blocks respectively.

The Bobcats were led by Aryanah Diaz in offensive and defensive efforts. Diaz came away with a double-double, totaling ten kills and 19 digs. Alejandra Rodriguez also had 19 digs while Maggie Baker had nine digs and five kills to both contribute to the team’s efforts.

Radulovic had a key response when she was asked about the six-game win streak. “It is obviously good to build momentum,” she said, “but we try to focus on every match one at a time and just kind of take it day by day so we are really excited to just keep going.” 

Radulovic and her fellow seniors want the season to slow down, as they are not ready for their time as Stags to come to an end.

“I don’t want to think about that [my last season] yet, but I really want to finish with a really good season and I’m sure that will help make everything worthwhile,” said the outside hitter.

Fairfield is now 8-4 on the season and continues to maintain their undefeated record in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, with three consecutive wins under their belt. 

The Stags will go up against Manhattan College (2-11) on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 1:00 p.m. on George Bisacca Court. 

Manhattan is desperate for a few more points in the win column and this will definitely translate to strength against the Stags this weekend. 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.