FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Going from setter for a high school volleyball team to setter for a Division I college team in the span of a year is quite a jump.

Lauren Balmert attempted such a leap — and landed with room to spare.

The Seneca Valley graduate is a freshman and starting setter at Fairfield University.

"She's our only setter, actually," said first-year Fairfield coach Alija Pittenger. "That's a pretty big deal to us.

"Your setter is the quarterback of the team. Asking a freshman to fill that role for a four-time conference champion ... that was a little nerve-racking for a new head coach.

"It's working out better than expected,"Pittenger added.

Fairfield has won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular-season title four years in a row, only to lose in the conference tournament finals.

This year's team, despite returning only five players, is 8-9 overall, but 6-0 in MAACplay.

Balmert was named MAACRookie of the Week in consecutive weeks. She already has posted five double-doubles — double figures in assists and digs.

Against league opponents, Balmert is averaging 10.48 assists and 2.52 digs per game. She's also produced 21 kills, 11 blocks and seven aces against MAACfoes.

Fairfield's practices last 3Z\x hours and are followed by 45-minute sessions in the weight room.

"It's quite a jump from high school, that's for sure,"Balmert said. "The longer practices and all the travel are the biggest differences.

"The volleyball is still volleyball and it's helped having five other freshmen as part of the rotation with me."

The other freshmen rotate in and out of the lineup. Balmert is on the court all the time.

"I'm not surprised at all by what she's doing,"Seneca Valley volleyball coach Karen Martini said. "Lauren has leadership qualities. She's confident in her abilities and her teammates have confidence in her.

"I'm sure that hasn't changed in college."

Balmert was an all-state player for Seneca Valley last year, amassing 409 assists and 52 kills for the Section 3 champion Raiders. She served as team captain during her final two seasons.

Pittenger has known of Balmert's abilities for some time. An assistant coach at Pitt before taking over at Fairfield, she knew the Panthers recruited Balmert heavily.

"Pitt was a bit too big for Lauren. She wanted a smaller school and she wanted to go away and be on her own,"Pittenger said. "I knew she was interested in Fairfield, which came in handy once I accepted the head coaching position there.

"We needed a setter and Lauren was the one I wanted."

On the season, Balmert has accumulated 539 assists — no teammate has more than 43 — and 47 kills. Fairfield's single-season record is 1,439 assists, which was set in 1996.

"I don't know what those numbers are. I haven't even looked at them,"Balmert said. "We never kept stats like that at Seneca Valley, so I've never worried about them.

"Volleyball is teamwork. I wouldn't get any assists if my teammates weren't finishing plays."

Now her team wants to finish off a successful season.

"We want to win that MAAC(tournament) championship,"Balmert said. "It's eluded this program for a while."

"With so many new players, all I want to see is the team improving with each game, so we can become a major player in the tournament,"Pittenger said. "That's happening, mainly because Lauren keeps improving with each game."