FAIRFIELD, CT – The Iona College volleyball program fell in straight sets (17-25, 21-25, 10-25) to Fairfield University on Sunday afternoon in Alumni Hall.
MATCH SUMMARY
In the opening set, the Maroon & Gold served first and immediately took the lead. Taking advantages of Stags miscues, the Gaels grew their lead to as large as six in the early portions of the match. Fairfield snuck within two, 15-13, following back-to-back service error and attack errors by Iona. The Stags continued to creep back, eventually taking the lead 17-16 on a Jamie Calandro ace. Kaylie Butts then had three straight kills, forcing an Iona timeout with the home team leading 21-17. Fairfield won the first set 25-17, closing it out with a 14-2 run.
Senior
Tess Connolly and Patsos each had three kills in the first set. Butts had five kills for the Stags. Fairfield ended up hitting .241 in the first set. Iona hit .114 as a team. The Gaels had seven attack errors.
The junior All-MAAC performer
Jamie Smith took out her scope and pinpointed four straight aces to give the Gaels an 8-5 lead in the second set. Fairfield tied the game at 13 with kills from Butts and Garcia. The Stags eventually took the lead for the first time in the set, 15-14, on a kill by Luci Albertson.
Following a media timeout, the Maroon & Gold regained composure and regathered a short lead. However, it'd be short lived. The Stags took a 20-18 lead, forcing a late-set timeout called by Iona head coach
Esai Velez-Perez. The Gaels tied the set once at 20, but fell behind in the match 2-0 when the second set ended 25-21 in the Stags favor.
Fairfield increased its hitting percentage to .275 in the second set. It had 16 kills on 40 attack attempts. The Gaels dropped its hitting percentage to .068, but stayed close in the game with six aces. Through two sets, Patsos and Smith each had six kills.
Iona fell behind early in the third set, 4-1, forcing a timely timeout. Fairfield didn't relent, building its lead to 13-6 and compelling the Maroon & Gold's second timeout. The Stags closed out the match winning the third set, 25-10.
The Maroon & Gold had a -.179 hitting percentage in the third set. Fairfield had four blocks and the Gaels had 10 attack errors.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Smith led the Maroon & Gold with eight kills on 26 swings. She also had a team-best four aces.
- Patsos finished the match with six kills. Connolly, sophomore Alessandra Brady and rookie Julia Thomas had three kils each.
- Rookie Samantha Juran had 10 assists and four digs. Smith was second on the team with nine assists. Redshirt senior Jessica Paolucci had 11 digs.
- Garcia led the Stags with 12 kills on 25 swings. Butts finished with eight kills and a .538 hitting percentage. Manuela Nicolini had 28 assists.
- Since 2001, the Maroon & Gold are 2-15 on the road against Fairfield. Their last win at Alumni Hall came on Nov. 10, 2013.
UP NEXT
Iona returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 1 p.m. against the Manhattan Jaspers in Riverdale, NY at Draddy Gymnasium. The Gaels look to extend their current five match winning streak against their neighborhood MAAC foe.
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