The Canisius College volleyball team lost its second-straight five-set match on Saturday afternoon, falling at Fairfield in the MAAC opener for both teams, 25-14, 17-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-10. Canisius is now 4-7 during the 2011 campaign and 0-1 in league action.
"I think what separates the top four in our conference from the first rest of the league is wins on the road," said Canisius head coach Cathy Hummel. "We had the right plan of attack today but were just unable to finish in the end. The result was not from a lack of effort today, rather than Fairfield just out-executing us."
Senior Danielle Brawn led the Griffs with 17 kills on the afternoon, while sophomore Emily Elek and junior Samantha Good added nine and seven kills, respectively.
Senior Janelle Davis posted a team-best 35 assists in the match with junior Allyson Severyn anchoring the Canisius defense with 24 digs.
The Stags (4-7, 1-0 MAAC) came out firing to start the match, hitting .471 to take the opening set. An early 5-0 run gave Fairfield the lead and after Canisius closed to within three points, 15-12, the Stags finished by taking 10 of the last 12 points in the set.
Canisius picked up its defense in the second stanza, starting with the team's blocking. The Griffs recorded six blocks in the second set after recording just one in the first and held Fairfield to a .053 attacking percentage to square the match at one.
The Griffs were unable to overcome a slow and sloppy start to the third set despite a late rally. Facing an eight-point deficit at 21-13, Canisius tallied seven of the next eight points to pull within two, 22-20. However, Fairfield notched the next three points to take a two sets to one lead into the fourth. The Griffs posted just seven kills in the frame compared to eight errors.
The momentum would once again turn in the fourth set with Canisius earning a 25-22 victory. Playing in a 14-10 hole, Canisius went on an 11-3 run to take control of the set. Fairfield would get as close as two points on three occasions but the Griffs were able to close the frame out to send the match in to a decisive fifth set.
Fairfield would come back in the fifth and after taking a 5-4 advantage, the Stags used a 5-1 run to seize control of the set en route to the 15-10 victory.
Camille Coffey led four Stags with double-digit kills, recording a match-high 18 on the afternoon. Rachel Romansky recorded 57 assists for Fairfield, while Kara Reis posted 20 digs.
The Griffs continue conference action tomorrow with a road contest against Iona. First serve is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
