Volleyball Drops Season-Opener Against Fairfield

The Central Connecticut volleyball team opened its season against Fairfield on Friday at the Army Invitational in West Point, NY. The Blue Devils fell, 3-1, to the Stags.

The Blue Devils continue play in the Army Invitational on Saturday with a match against Army West Point at 2:30 p.m. and against Cal at 7:00 p.m.

GAME INFORMATION

Score:  CCSU 1, Fairfield 3 (25-20, 11-25, 25-17, 15-18)
Records: CCSU (0-1), Fairfield (2-0)
Location: Gillis Field House | West Point, NY

KEY MOMENTS

• Central had a 9-6 lead in the opening set until Fairfield rolled off five straight points to take a two-point lead. The Stags would stretch the lead to 17-10 and CCSU was unable to get closer than 18-14 the rest of the way.
• CCSU would score five straight points to build a 10-4 cushion in the second set and force a Stags timeout. The Blue Devils stretched the lead to 24-10 after a string of six straight points. Lauren Milani would serve three straight aces and Mia Lombardo had consecutive kills to cap the spurt and help Central even the match.
• The third set was a back-and-forth frame before Fairfield would edge ahead to take a 17-13 lead following consecutive kills. The Blue Devils would manage to trim the deficit to one point, but the Stags would respond with four straight points to go ahead 21-16. Central would end the run with a kill by Isabella Bratzke, but Fairfield closed out the set with four straight points.
• The teams were tied, 9-9, in the fourth set until Fairfield scored three straight points to force a CCSU timeout. The Stags extended the lead to 16-10 before a kill by Lombardo and a block by Isabelle Roufs cut the deficit to three points and forced a Fairfield timeout. The Stags would end the run with back-to-back kills and CCSU would get no closer than 18-15 the rest of the way.

NUMBER TO KNOW

20 – The match had 20 tied scores throughout.

NOTES

• The teams were meeting for the first time since 2015 and the Blue Devils saw their three-game win streak in the series come to an end.
• Lombardo had a career-high 15 kills and hit .464 in the match.
• Larissa Heimer had 34 assists for CCSU.
• Milani had a team-high 19 digs. She added five service aces.
• Weronika Poczynek finished with 11 kills and eight digs.

UP NEXT

The Blue Devils continue play in the Army Invitational on Saturday with a match against Army West Point at 2:30 p.m. and against Cal at 7:00 p.m.

Follow @CCSUBlueDevils on Twitter and CCSUBlueDevils.com for updates.