FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University volleyball team heads to the Empire State this weekend for the first two contests of a five-match road trip. The Stags' longest stretch of true road matches on the 2015 slate begins with outings to challenge a pair of perennial Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference contenders, Siena and Marist.

The Stags are coming off of a 2-1 homestand, moving to 6-8 overall and 2-3 in MAAC play. Fairfield picked up three-set wins over Quinnipiac and Saint Peter's during the residency at Alumni Hall before most recently falling in four sets to Rider, which stands atop the conference standings at 6-0.

Skyler Day has led the Stags during MAAC play, averaging a team-high 3.28 kills per set on .263 hitting from the outside in Fairfield's five league contests to date. Defensively, she adds 3.11 digs per frame and seven total blocks in MAAC action. Three of Day's five double-doubles have come during conference play, including back-to-back double-doubles in the Stags' most recent outings against Saint Peter's and Rider.

Another of the Stags' 10 newcomers, Chanel Cooper, has emerged during the conference slate as an offensive threat. The rookie has posted 2.31 kills per set in MAAC action on .280 hitting. Fellow freshmen Kaitlyn Fisher and Oyinkansola Akinola have bolstered the attack, hitting .333 and .318, respectively, during league play.

In last Sunday's four-set clash with Rider, Megan O'Sullivan returned to the lineup and posted 10 kills on .450 hitting from the middle. The junior co-captain also had a hand in three blocks in her first MAAC outing of the fall.

For the season as a whole, Day leads the attack with 3.31 kills per frame – ranking third in the MAAC – and Megan Theiller checks in with 3.02 finishers per set. Kiley Lingenfelter and Sydney Buckley have split setting duties, recording 5.82 and 5.15 assists per set respectively. In the back row, Mallory Bechtold has posted 4.04 digs per set, with Day adding 2.78 and Theiller contributing 2.39 per stanza.

The Stags have been one of the MAAC's top teams at the net, ranking second in the conference with an even 2.00 blocks per set. Sydney Williams shares the conference-lead with 0.95 send-backs per frame, while O'Sullivan is slotted at fourth with 0.92.

Fairfield's weekend begins in Loudonville, N.Y. for what the Stags aim to make the first of two trips this fall to the site of the 2015 MAAC Championship. Defending conference champion Siena awaits on Saturday afternoon, bringing a record of 8-7 overall and 5-1 in the MAAC into the weekend slate.

Briana Flagg leads the Saints and all MAAC players with 3.70 kills per set. Flagg has had a breakout junior campaign, already recording a career-best 200 kills after sending home 56 total finishers in her first two years at Siena. Most of her 588 swings have been facilitated by Haley Howell, who has distributed a conference-best 10.30 assists per frame.

A Siena student-athlete is also parked atop the leaderboard in digs courtesy of 4.85 per set from the back row by Kalehua Katagiri.

The weekend run in the Empire State moves to Poughkeepsie on Sunday, where the Stags will meet the conference's defending regular season champions, Marist. The Red Foxes are 11-6 on the season with a 4-2 record against MAAC competition.

Two 2014 First Team All-MAAC performers – Courtney Shaw and Amanda Schlegel – lead Marist once against this fall. Shaw is a part of a potent Red Fox attack with 2.68 kills per set, and Schlegel runs the offense to the tune of 8.77 assists per frame. Kelsey Ediger holds the team high in kills with 3.08 finishers per set.

Defensively, Lexi Millington owns a team-leading 4.23 digs per set, and Ashton Korona has posted a team-best 45 blocks (0.74/set).

The Stags return to New York next weekend, continuing their five-match road trip with visits to Manhattan and Iona to complete the first half of conference action. The second round of MAAC contests begins with a visit to Quinnipiac on Oct. 22.

Fairfield's next home outing is the regular season's final non-conference contest as crosstown rival Sacred Heart comes to Alumni Hall on Friday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m.