The Red Foxes took a set against the first-place Stags, but Fairfield handled Marist in four with a victory that has key playoff implications for both sides.
The Stags are striving for the first overall seed and the right to host the MAAC Tournament that comes along with it. With the win, Fairfield moves to 13-1 in conference play and holds a 1.5 game advantage over second-place Quinnipiac.
Now at 6-8, the Red Foxes have a daunting road ahead of them: they need to win their next four matches to have a chance to clinch a spot in the postseason.
“Our season’s on the line, so we have to win out. Otherwise, we don’t make the tournament,” said redshirt junior middle blocker Mikayla Keefer. “It just adds more fuel to the fire.”
Fairfield had three hitters finish with double-digit kills, all of whom did so with a hitting percentage over .300. Senior outside hitter Allie Elliott led the Stags with 12, while junior right side Mamie Krubally, who torched the Red Foxes in their previous matchup, and sophomore outside hitter Katelyn Cook each had 11.
On the other side of the net, freshman right-side hitter Eleana Koute tied her career high in kills, with 13. Koute’s 6-foot-4-inch frame and high reach made her a key threat against Fairfield’s lengthy pin hitters.
Despite being known for its blistering offense, the Stags relied more on their defense to start the match. Fairfield entered Saturday with a .292 hitting percentage in conference play, by far the highest mark in the MAAC.
Marist initially slowed down Fairfield’s intimidating hitters, but the Stags’ blocking shut down the Red Foxes’ attack. Each Marist swing caught a piece of Fairfield’s block, making life easier for the Stags’ back row passers; the Red Foxes finished the set with only a .114 hitting percentage.
Fairfield quickly took a 19-10 lead before Marist’s hitters found some consistency, powering a 7-3 run. It was too little, too late. Fairfield won three of the next four, taking the set 25-18.
Koute accounted for more than half of Marist’s offense in the set, scoring five of their nine kills. Fairfield began clicking offensively, too, after its uncustomary start; the Stags converted on 13 of 30 swings, with four hitters contributing multiple kills, opposed to just one from Marist.
The Red Foxes dominated the Stags’ block, which also entered the game with far and away the most blocks per set in the conference, to start the second set by scoring 10 of their first 11 points via kills.
Their hitting percentage hovered around .500, as Marist reached 20 first with a three-point lead, threatening to even the match at one. Fairfield quickly won the next three points, tying the set and prompting a timeout from head coach Sean Byron.
Marist and Fairfield split the next four points before kills from Keefer and freshman outside hitter Mallory Reck put Marist at set point. Junior outside hitter Sara Dasic wasted no time; she ended the set from the service line with an ace.
“It shows that we can compete with anyone in the MAAC,” said graduate student Claire Lewis, of Marist’s impressive second set victory.
The Red Foxes took their spirited finish from the second into the third, where they grabbed seven of the first 10 points. The Stags battled back, and the sides sat tied at 15. From there, Fairfield rattled off a 4-1 run to take control as the set neared its end.
Fairfield overwhelmed Marist the rest of the way, as the Red Foxes struggled to find any answers to the Stags’ attack, which posted 14 kills on 28 tries, good for an even 50% kill percentage.
The Stags dominated the fourth set, with a 25-15 wire-to-wire victory. They put together their strongest set of the afternoon, swinging for a .393 hitting percentage and blocking six Marist attacks.
Marist needs to win all four of its matches left on the schedule to have a shot at making this year’s MAAC Tournament. For the Red Foxes, they know the long odds ahead of them, and they know what they need to do it make it happen.
“The only way you’re gonna win is if you play like that, where you’re trying to be very terminal and kill the ball, serve it aggressively,” said Byron. “If we’re trying to be tenative and soft, we’re gonna lose. We can’t play that way at all.”
First up is the Iona Gaels, whom Marist bested in three sets in their first matchup earlier this season. The first serve is set for 1 p.m. in New Rochelle.
Edited by Ava Battinelli
Photo by Celia Green
Graphic by Jaylen Rizzo
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