NIAGARA UNIV. — The Purple Eagles fell in a five-set thriller to MAAC-leading and conference unbeaten Fairfield on Sunday to close out their home schedule.
The Purple Eagles and Stags kept the first set even up until a score of 7-6, where NU would take the lead and never hand it back. Multiple kills throughout the set by Nicole Matheis, Caroline Leitch, and Madison May would give Niagara the first 25-20. In a second set that saw 15 tied scores and seven lead changes, Niagara and Fairfield would battle it out until a victor would rise. An attack error and ball handling error on NU would give the Stags the set 26-24, evening up the sets. The third set featured nine tied scores, with another critical ending. With a tied score of 26-26 after a kill by May, Fairfield would deliver a kill of their own, followed by an attack error on Niagara. The stags would take the third 28-26. Niagara held control the entire fourth set, never decreasing the lead by more than two. A couple of kills by Madison May late in the set would help increase the lead for NU from 21-16 to 25-18, resulting in a set win for the Purple Eagles. Fairfield reacted early in the fifth set, taking the lead to 7-3 before a timeout by Niagara. Although the Purple Eagles would fight back into the set, Fairfield would never relinquish the lead, ultimately winning the set 15-7 and the match 3-2.
NU Head Coach Vilis Ozols said, “I was really proud of the way our team played against the top team in the conference. We battled them eye-to-eye, but for different plays or bounces we know that it could have gone either way. I thought our defense was outstanding and our offense worked really well. It was a good outing even with the loss.”
Niagara wraps up the regular season with matches at Manhattan on Saturday and Iona on Nov. 13.
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