BUFFALO, N.Y. ? The Canisius College volleyball team (4-10 , 2-0) grinded out a three set victory to defeat the Fairfield Stags (4-7, 0-2) 3-0, at the Koessler Athletic Center on Sunday afternoon. For the sixth time under head coach Cathy Hummel that the Griffs have swept the MAAC-opening weekend.

"As soon as you walked in the gym you could tell both teams were excited, and that's what conference play is about," Hummel said. "There's no single recipe to fighting through adversity and today We found a way to win against a very athletic Fairfield team."

Both Katlyn Tyler and Jacklyn Malusa finished with double-figure kills as Tyler had 11 and Malusa 10. Lauren Siebert had the best hitting percentage on the squad with a .500 mark, registering eight kills on 14 total attacks.

Grace Streicher was able to help orchestrate the efficient Golden Griffin offense registering 34 assists for the Blue and Gold. Tyler's 13 digs paced the team, while Jordan Tylec had nine.

Each set was won with a razor-thin margin as the Stags lost all three by a combined 10 points.

After holding a 14-10 lead in the first set, Fairfield went on a 10-6 run to tie things at 20-20. The Griffs shook off the run by finishing the frame with a 5-1 run of its own thanks to a pair of kills by Malusa and a kill by Siebert which clinched the win.

Like its last match against Quinnipiac, the Griffs won the second frame, taking a 2-0 lead into the break. The real test for the Blue and Gold was to see if the squad could close out the match in the third stanza.

The Griffs got out to a good start in the set inching out to an 8-5 advantage. Canisius extended the lead to 19-15 thanks to a Tyler kill to put Canisius in the driver's seat. However the Stags didn't relent going on a 5-1 run to make it 21-20, Griffs. Faifield knotted it up a few points later as an attack error by Siebert made it 22-22. However Canisius battled through the adversity and three straight errors by Fairfield led to the set and the match win, 25-22.

The Griffs will prepare for its first road MAAC contest next weekend as the squad will travel to play Marist on Saturday and Siena on Sunday. Both matches will begin at 1 p.m.

GAME NOTES:
With the win Canisius trails the all-time series 27-11 ... This is the seventh victory the Griffs have tallied over Fairifield under head coach Cathy Hummel ... Coach Hummel is now 18-12 in opening MAAC weekends ... This is the sixth time in her career that Hummel has coached her squad to a MAAC opening weekend sweep.?