LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. – After leading Fairfield University volleyball team to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular season championship, Todd Kress has been named the Lids Team Sports MAAC Coach of the Year. Additionally, Skyler Day and Megan O'Sullivan have been named First Team All-MAAC and Oyinkansola Akinola was tabbed for the MAAC All-Rookie Team.
Skyler Day is the only sophomore and the only conference newcomer to earn First Team All-MAAC honors in 2015. The outside hitter, who spent her freshman campaign with the University at Buffalo, ranks third in the MAAC in kills with a team-leading 3.67 per set and adds 2.90 digs per set en route to 16 double-doubles. Day has filled out the statsheet this with 31 service aces, 28 blocks and 23 assists.
A native of Minooka, Illinois, Day's statistics improved further during the 18-match MAAC slate. The sophomore posted 3.82 kills and 3.16 digs per set against conference foes.
Junior co-captain Megan O'Sullivan collects her first-ever All-MAAC honor as a member of the First Team. O'Sullivan hit .309 while averaging 2.70 kills per set on the offensive end and was the driving force behind Fairfield's defensive effort with 0.97 blocks per stanza. The most recent MAAC Player of the Week, O'Sullivan hit .500 this past week in three Fairfield victories as the Stags locked up the regular season crown and top seed in this weekend's MAAC Championship.
O'Sullivan, who hails from Phoenix, Arizona, had a MAAC-leading .350 hitting percentage during conference play with 3.08 kills, 1.00 digs and 0.94 blocks per frame.
The Stags have now had at least one First Team All-MAAC honoree in five consecutive seasons – tying Siena for the longest active streak in the conference – with multiples student-athletes earning a First Team slot in three of those campaigns.
MAAC All-Rookie Team selection Oyinkansola Akinola has stepped into the Stags' starting lineup for 17 matches – appearing in a total of 26 contests to date – during her freshman season. Akinola sent home 1.59 kills per set and had a hand in 83 Fairfield blocks (0.87/set).
Against MAAC competition, the right-side hitter from Schaumburg, Illinois ranked ninth in the conference with a .255 hitting percentage while sending home 1.70 kills per set. Akinola also ranked ninth at the net during the MAAC slate with 0.89 blocks per contest.
O'Sullivan, sophomore Megan Theiller and sophomore Sydney Buckley were also recognized as members of the MAAC All-Academic Team. Eligible student-athletes must have completed at least two semesters at their current institution and hold a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20 or higher.
Kress collects MAAC Coach of the Year honors for the fourth time in his career. He won the award in three straight seasons from 1996-98 as a part of his first tenure with the Stags, also claiming 1998 AVCA District II Coach of the Year laurels after guiding Fairfield to a program-best 35-2 final record. The 20-year Division I head coaching veteran, who returned to the Fairfield sidelines in 2014, has led a club featuring nine freshmen and 10 total newcomers to a 14-4 MAAC record as a part of a 19-9 overall tally this season.
Kress, who was also the 2001 Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year as the head coach at Northern Illinois, is Fairfield's all-time leader in wins (132) and matches coached (198) while ranking second all-time in win percentage (.667). The youngest coach in NCAA history to reach 200 career wins when he attained the milestone as head coach at Florida State in 2004, Kress holds an all-time head coaching record of 366-261.
As the top seed in the MAAC Championship, which is set for Nov. 20-22 at Siena's Alumni Recreation Center, the Stags have earned a bye to Saturday's semifinal round. Fairfield will play the winner of the matchup between fourth-seeded Manhattan and fifth-seeded Rider.
