(21-10, 13-5 MAAC)

1st 2nd 3rd 4th F #2 Marist   24  19  25  23  1  #1 Fairfield  26 25  19  25  3  Box Score | Facebook Photo Gallery

(21-9, 14-4 MAAC)

LOUDONVILLE, New York - The Marist volleyball team ended its 2015 season 21-10 overall after falling to the top seed Fairfield Stags, 3-1, in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship match. The Red Foxes rebounded from set losses of 26-24 and 25-19 and continued the match with a 25-19 victory in the third set. Fairfield took the final set 25-23, however.

Junior Lexi Millington and sophomore Kelsey Ediger had 26 digs apiece and were each named to the MAAC All-Tournament Team. Millington ended the season with 557 digs, surpassing the old program record of 540 set by Brooke Zywick in 2013.

Sophomore Ashton Korona had eight blocks up front in the final while senior Kelsey Lahey slammed 16 kills and exceeded the 1,000 kill milestone for her career.

Neither team led by more than three points in an opening set that was tied 13 times. Marist jumped out to a 7-4 lead with the help of a pair of service aces from Millington. An Ediger kill evened the score at 24, but the Stags snagged the final two points on kills. Attacks continued to dictate the match, as Marist pulled within four to make it 15-11 in the second set, but found itself in a quick 2-0 hole in the match.

The Red Foxes erupted for an 8-2 run in the third set to take control and move ahead 21-18. The scoring spree was highlighted by kills from Lahey and senior Courtney Shaw. Marist scored three of the final four points of the frame and carried momentum into the fourth set to go up 8-6. A late 7-1 run from the Stags almost sealed the match, but Marist tied the score one more time at 23 before dropping the final two points.

Both sides were almost even in every statistical category, as Marist had a slight 24-23 edge in kills and led 99-97 in digs.

Fairfield sophomore Megan Theiller was named the Tournament MVP and led the Stags with 22 kills. Freshman libero Taylor Rudeen had a mtch-high 28 digs alongside two service aces.   

Marist made its third straight trip to the conference finals in 2015 after it was picked to finish fourth in the MAAC Preseason Poll back in August. 

Full MAAC Championships Results

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20 (Quarterfinals)

GAME 1: #4 Manhattan 3 - #5 Rider 0                                                          

GAME 2: #3 Siena 0 - #6 Niagara 3                                                                                           

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21 (Semifinals)

GAME 3: #1 Fairfield 3 - # 4 Manhattan 2             

GAME 4: #2 Marist 3 - #6 Niagara 0                   

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22 (Final)

GAME 5: #1 Fairfield 3 - #2 Marist 1