Beth Lochner

Box Score

Canisius Canis 11-18,10-8 MAAC

Fairfield Fairf 23-8,16-2 MAAC

Canisius Canis

11-18,10-8 MAAC

Final

Nov. 20, 2021

Fairfield Fairf

23-8,16-2 MAAC

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	4	5	F
Canisius Canis	25	14	25	23	5	(2)
Fairfield Fairf	15	25	17	25	15	(3)

Game Recap: Volleyball | 11/20/2021 7:15:00 PM

Volleyball Falls in Five Sets to Fairfield in MAAC Semifinals

The Canisius volleyball team saw its 2021 season come to an end on Saturday evening, as the top-seeded Fairfield Stags rallied to score a 3-2 win over the Golden Griffins in the 2021 MAAC Volleyball Championship semifinal round at UHY Center in Loudonville, N.Y.

With the win, Fairfield (23-8) advances to the MAAC's championship match on Sunday, where it will play either Rider or Quinnipiac. Canisius ends the year with an 11-18 overall record.

MATCH RECAP
Canisius jumped Fairfield early, taking set one by a score of 25-15. In that first frame, senior Hannah Nelson led the Blue and Gold with three kills and two service aces and the Griffs' defense held the MAAC regular season champs to a team attack percentage of -.069. The Stags responded in the second set, winning 25-14, to even the match at one set, apiece. In the second set, Fairfield hit .417 as a team, where KJ Johnson recorded a team-high five kills and a service ace for the Stags.

Out of the intermission, Canisius took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-17 victory in the third set. Canisius' defense was up to the task in the third set, as the Griffs held Fairfield to a team attack percentage of just .064 while taking advantage of seven Fairfield attack errors. In the fourth set, Canisius led 21-18 in the later stages, but the Stags were able to force a fifth and deciding set after they scored seven of the last nine points in the stanza, capped by back-to-back kills from Mikayla Haut.

The momentum from set four carried into set five for Fairfield, as the Stags jumped out to an 11-3 lead in the final frame. Back-to-back attack errors by Fairfield gave the Blue and Gold some life, as the score moved to 11-5, but the Stags closed out the contest by scoring the final four points of the match, taking advantage of two late Canisius attack errors.

Nelson led the Griffs with her team-high 17 kills. She was also credited with seven digs, two service aces, a solo block and a block assist. Freshman Kara Zaucha chipped in 11 kills, while senior Rachel Kinney recorded eight kills and 14 digs. Senior setter Ashley Kekeisen registered 38 assists, 17 digs and three block assists in the losing effort, and junior Elle Shult was credited with a solo block and five block assists, as Canisius recorded 16 total blocks on the day. Junior libero Bree Long recorded a match-high 28 digs and five assists for the Griffs.

MATCH NOTES
• Canisius and Fairfield met for the 50th time in series history on Saturday, and for just the second time in the MAAC Championship. Fairfield leads the series 34-16.
• This marks the 13th time in program history where the Griffs advanced to the MAAC Volleyball Championship semifinal round. Canisius has played in the semifinals of the league's championship tournament in four consecutive years.
• Nelson ended the season with 41 service aces, which ties her for 10th all-time in program history for aces in a year. She is just the third player in school history to have her name on the program's top-10 single-season service aces list multiple times after she had a school record 57 aces in 2019.
• Kekeisen closed out the year with a team-high 618 assists. She averaged 8.4 assists per set in the team's final 10 matches of the season.
• Long's 529 digs in 2021 ranks ninth for a single-season in program history. She will start next season with 1,360 career digs, which is already fifth-most in school history.

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