Despite entering the third set tied at 1-1, the Siena Saints volleyball team fell to the Fairfield Stags on Wednesday night in midweek MAAC action by a final of 3-1 (17-25, 27-25, 17-25, 19-25). Fairfield would have four players in double-figure kills, led by 15 apiece from Mayda Garcia and Joelle Battles.

Behind Garcia and Battles were Kaylie Butts and Luci Albertson on offense, as Butts knocked down 14 kills while Albertson chipped in with 13 on the match. Laura Seeger added five kills, as those five for Fairfield would provide all the offense over the four sets. However, Manuela Nicolini would run the offense with 57 assists on the night, while adding a team-high 17 digs. Morgan Doll would also be strong defensively, matching Nicolini for the team high with 17 digs as well. As a team on the match, the Stags hit a solid .294 over the four sets.

For Siena, sophomore Maddy Dunigan and freshman Isabella Ultsch each tossed in eight kills, while freshman Sol Guidarelli and junior Dakota Jackson added six kills apiece. Freshman Madoka Weldon led the Green and Gold with 13 digs, while classmate Maria Llinas passed around 30 assists on the night. Sophmore Aby Huffman would be tough at the net with a hand in four blocks.

"Fairfield showed why they are the top team in the conference so far," said head coach Vilis Ozols. "Our team played them eye to eye and should be proud of the way we challenged them on their home court. The offense was balanced and I thought Izzy, Maddy, and Dakota had so many outstanding attacks at key points with Maria running the offense effectively."

The first set belonged to the Stags, as they used a big run early to build a gap. With Siena leading 9-8, Fairfield scored eight points in a row to take a 16-9 lead they would not surrender the rest of the way taking a 25-17 win in the set to go up 1-0.

Siena would put up a fight, seemingly going point-for-point with the Stags in the second set. With the score tied at 17-17, Siena came through with a 4-0 run as Guidarelli notched back-to-back kills to preceed a Weldon ace and Fairfield attack error. The Stags responded right back with four point of their own to re-tie things at 21-21. Both sides traded points once again. Siena was able to gain an advantage at 24-22 as a kill from Huffman and Fairfield error. Despite Fairfield evening things out and forcing extra rallies, Siena used a kill by Jackson and an attack error from Fairfield to take the set two win 27-25.

However, the Stags took control of both the third and fourth sets and were able to hold the Saints under 20 points in each set. In the third, Fairfield took a 25-17 win, while a 25-19 win in set four clinched the match for the Stags.

The Saints are back in action as the calendar turns to November on Friday, Nov. 1 when they play host to the Marist Red Foxes at the Alumni Recreation Center. Opening serve for the match is set for 7 p.m.