POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - The Marist volleyball team lost a heart-breaker to Fairfield in the home-opener 3-2 (25-20, 17-25, 19-25, 25-20, 13-15). Redshirt senior
Joanna Foss had a team-high 17 kills for the Red Foxes, including four in a nail-biting fifth set.
After an exciting fourth set which Marist (5-8 overall, 2-1 MAAC) had to winb, the Red Foxes jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the fifth set on a kill by Marisa Gilbert (Pflugerville, Texas) and a block by Gilbert and Leeann Harridsleff (Simi Valley, Calif.). However, Fairfield (5-8 overall, 2-1 MAAC) rallied with three straight kills to prompt a Marist timeout. Out of the break, the Red Foxes again jumped out to a three-point lead at 12-9, thanks in part to a three kills by Foss (Northville, Mich.). Following a timeout, the Stags grabbed momentum with four consecutive points that gave them a 13-12 lead. A kill by Grace Hill (Portage, Mich.) tied the score, but back-to-back kills by Fairfield's Caitlin Stapleton gave the set and the match to the Stags.
The first set started out tight, with neither team maintaining more than a one-point lead until a Fairfield bad set and a block by Gilbert and Foss gave Red Foxes at 10-7 lead. Both teams traded points until the Stags eventually tied it up at 19 on back-to-back kills by Kendal Dirkin and Camille Coffey. Marist would finish strong however, scoring six of the final seven points to win the set. Foss, Hill and Hanna Stoiberg (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) each had four kills in the set and Marist had a .444 hitting percentage as a team.
The Red Foxes could not keep up the strong play in the second set. Fairfield jumped out to a 5-2 lead before kills by Foss and Stoiberg closed the deficit. That is as close as Marist would get for the rest of the set as the Stags used several runs to open a commanding 23-15 lead. A Fairfield attacking error and a block by Gilbert and Harridsleff cut the gap, but the Stags were able to hold on.
Marist showed promise in the third set, taking an early 5-2 lead on kills by Gilbert and Stoiberg. Fairfield however scored 10 of the next 15 points to grab the lead at 12-10. After the lead expanded to 17-13, the Red Foxes fought back to tie things up at 19 on a kill by Hill, Stoiberg and two kills and a service ace by Foss. Fairfield would regain the momentum however, scoring the final six points to win the set and take a 2-1 match lead. The Red Foxes hit only .056 over the second and third sets.
In the fourth set, the Red Foxes again were able to jump out quick, this time to a 7-2 lead. Kills by Stoiberg, Harridsleff, Kayla Burton (Kissimmee, Fla.) and a service ace by Audra Brady (Allentown, Pa.) all contributed to the early margin. Marist extended the lead to eight at 15-7 on another Burton kill. Fairfield cut the lead to 22-19, but the Red Foxes held on. Harridsleff closed it out with a kill to take the match to the fifth and deciding set. Hill had five kills in the set and Burton added three.
Hill finished with 16 kills and 10 digs. Stoiberg had 10 kills and 24 assists and Brady added 22 assists of her own. Brooke Zywick (Garden City, Mich.) had a team-high 15 digs and Gilbert had five kills, a .625 hitting percentage and five total blocks.
Next up, the Red Foxes welcome MAAC foe Iona to McCann Arena on Sunday for a 2 p.m. match, part of Marist's Alumni Weekend.
