FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Following another unbeaten weekend of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action, the Fairfield University volleyball team has been recognized by the MAAC with a pair of weekly awards. Megan Theiller was tabbed as the MAAC Player of the Week and Manuela Nicolini was named the MAAC Rookie of the Week for their contributions in the Stags' 3-0 victories over Siena and Marist this past week.
Theiller led the Fairfield attack this past weekend, averaging 4.67 kills per set on .426 hitting from the outside. She added 2.00 digs per frame and two blocks to the defensive effort. Theiller rounded out her statline with four service aces and an assist. In Saturday's win over Siena, she hit .480 en route to 14 kills (14-2-25) with six digs, two aces and an assist. She notched 14 kills once again in Sunday's sweep of Marist, hitting .379 (14-3-29) in the three-setter. Theiller added six digs, two blocks (one solo) and two aces against the Red Foxes.
The distinction is Theiller's second MAAC Player of the Week honor this year and the third of her career. She joins teammate Skyler Day and Quinnipiac's Elizabeth Kloos as two-time MAAC Players of the Week in 2016.
Nicolini helped pilot the Fairfield offense and aided the defensive effort at the net last week. She averaged 7.17 assists per frame and guided the Stags to a .316 team attack percentage while adding three kills of her own. Nicolini totaled 10 blocks on the week (1.67 per set) with 1.33 digs per frame in the wins. She dished out 19 assists with a career-best seven blocks, five digs and two kills in Saturday's win over Siena. On Sunday, she handed out 24 helpers with three blocks, three digs and a kill in the 3-0 triumph over Marist.
Nicolini's first career MAAC weekly award is the first Rookie of the Weed nod for a Stag since Theiller was selected on five occasions en route to MAAC Rookie of the Year honors in 2014.
Unbeaten in the MAAC at 11-0 (18-5 overall), the Stags are currently riding a 12-match winning streak – one of just six active streaks of at least 12 wins in the nation. Fairfield's 22 consecutive wins over MAAC opponents (including postseason) also mark the sixth-longest active run in all of Division I.
The Stags are back in action next weekend for trips to Iona and Manhattan on Oct. 22-23. Fairfield swept the Gaels and Jaspers on their visits through Alumni Hall last month. MAAC play returns to George Bisacca Court the following weekend when Rider and Saint Peter's come to town on Oct. 29-30.
