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FAIRFIELD, Conn. - Fairfield's Alumni Hall has always been a tough place to play. The Manhattan College volleyball team knows that first-hand, having never won in the facility. Unfortunately for the Jaspers (11-7, 4-2 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference), that streak continued on Saturday afternoon, as the Stags (10-8, 7-1 MAAC).took over second place in the MAAC with a 26-24, 25-21, 25-16 victory.
After the Stags took an 8-6 lead in the first set, the Jaspers went on a 4-2 run to tie the score at 10-10. Fairfield responded with five of the next six points to go up 15-11, but Manhattan again rallied to tie it, 17-17. The Stags once again built a three-point lead at 21-18 before the Jaspers forced a 23-23 deadlock. Fairfield reached set point on a kill by Caitlin Stapleton, but Malia McGuinness (Kailua, Hawaii) followed with a kill to force the eighth tie of the set. However, the Stags claimed the next two points to take the set, 26-24.
The second set was another tight affair that featured nine ties and five lead changes. Fairfield built an early 3-1 advantage before Manhattan went in front 6-4 on a kill by Brittany DeGagne (Penticton, B.C.). After the Stags took a 17-13 lead, the Jaspers rallied to force an 18-18 tie. However, Fairfield scored the next four points to seize control. The Stags won the second set by a 25-21 margin to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
That momentum carried over into the third set, as Fairfield scored the first three points. After the Stags opened up a 10-point lead at 16-6, Manhattan responded with a 5-0 run to cut its deficit in half. However, that's as close as the Jaspers would get. Fairfield hit an even .400 (14 kills, two errors, 30 attempts) in the third set, which it won by a 25-16 count to finish off the victory.
McGuinness recorded a team-high eight kills to go along with eight digs. Mariana Furquim (Curitiba, Brazil) tallied seven kills, while DeGagne notched four kills on .429 hitting. Hollegn Henderson (Long Beach, Calif.) had five kills and hit .571. She also distributed 23 assists. Julie Bies (Massapequa, N.Y.) collected a team-best 10 digs and Kelsey Huntoon (Monroe, Mich.) added eight digs. As a team, Manhattan hit .162 (33-16-105) in the match.
Brianna Dixion led Fairfield with 12 kills, while Kendal Dirkin hit .647, posting 11 kills on 17 errorless swings. Dirkin also had three blocks. Rachel Romansky dished out 41 assists to go along with two service aces and seven digs. Haililani Pokipala notched a match-high 16 digs, and Lauren Balmert tallied 10 digs and two aces, as the Stags outdug the Jaspers 49-42. Overall, Fairfield hit .280 (46-16-107) as a team.
The Jaspers return to action on Sunday, when they visit Iona (8-7, 5-2 MAAC) at 4 p.m. Live video of the match will be available to JasperVision subscribers as a part of the MAAC.tv package.
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