Box Score

The Niagara volleyball team used its championship mettle to pull away from the Fairfield Stags in four sets (18-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-21) in a battle of the top two teams in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) on Saturday at the Gallagher Center.

The Purple Eagles (17-7, 11-0 MAAC) were pushed by a feisty Fairfield (12-9, 9-2 MAAC) squad who entered the match on an eight match winning streak.  NU improved its best conference start in program history while extending its overall winning streak to 12, conference winning streak to 30, and home winning streak to 16 which is the ninth longest in the nation. Niagara also swept the regular-season series with Fairfield for the second time ever, with the first occurring last season when NU won all three matches against the Stags.

“This was a hard fought win,” head coach Susan Clements said. “Fairfield is a very good team and is getting better.”

Niagara had to rally after dropping the first, 25-18. Fairfield got off to a hot start and built a 16-10 lead. NU scratched back into the match behind strong serving, but the Stags’ .289 hitting percentage, their highest of the match, prevailed them to the opening set win.

The two-time defending MAAC champions responded beginning in the second set. Niagara benefited from a quick 6-2 start to the open the set, but a 10-2 run by Fairfield midway through the set gave it a 17-16 lead. An attacking error by Fairfield sparked a 9-2 run for the Purple Eagles and they closed out the set with a kill by Hannah Hedrick. 

Niagara edged Fairfield in the crucial third set which was tightly contested throughout. With the set tied at 21-21, another attacking error by the Stags opened the door the Purple Eagles, and Hedrick again won the set with a kill at 25-23. In the third set, NU had a 5-1 spurt to build a 14-10 lead, which created distance, as it won the set to win the match. NU had match-highs of 29 digs and a hitting percentage of .283 in the fourth set.

“I thought our hitters came up with some great shots today when (they were) put in difficult situations, but our defense was the real key,” Clements said. “We were able to get second and third opportunities to terminate.”

Senior libero Sam Morgan was once again the key in organizing the defense as she recorded double-digit digs for the 120th straight match. The Cincinnati, Ohio native had a season-high 34 digs, which are three shy of her career-high of 37 set in Sept. 2009.

Three other Purple Eagles had at least 10 digs with Kari Honomichl(match-high 16 kills and 17 digs), Hedrick (13 kills and 15 digs) and Nicole Bayer (match-high 39 assists and 15 digs) all notching double-doubles.

Niagara will welcome third place Iona to the Gallagher Center for a 2 p.m. match on Sunday.