FAIRFIELD, Conn. – For the 16th time in program history, the Fairfield University volleyball team has claimed the MAAC Regular Season Championship. The Stags swept visiting Saint Peter's (25-9, 25-13, 25-11) on Sunday afternoon on George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall to lock up the outright title and top seed in the upcoming MAAC Championship. Fairfield earns a bye to the semifinal round of the tournament, which will be held at Alumni Hall from Nov. 18-20.
The Stags have now won the MAAC regular season crown in back-to-back seasons and four of the last five campaigns. In seven total seasons at the helm, Head Coach Todd Kress has piloted Fairfield to five regular season titles.
Fairfield improves to 22-5 overall and 15-0 in the MAAC with its 16th straight win. This year marks the 14th 20-win campaign in program history, and 16 consecutive victories accounts for the nation's second-longest active winning streak. The run is also the program's longest since a 20-match stretch in 2006.
In today's action, Megan Theiller was the lone player to reach double figures with 11 kills. The junior, who improved her career total to 993 finishers, swung at an efficient .526 hitting percentage and committed just one attack error on 19 attempts. Megan O'Sullivan was equally overpowering in the middle, needing just nine swings to amass her eight kills (.889). The Stags' lone senior was also a force at the net defensively with seven blocks.
Adding to the offense was Sonja Radulovic, who tallied a career-high seven kills in two sets of the work. The rookie hit .417 in the contest. Skyler Day added five kills on the outside, with Nora Quinn and Mayda Garcia posting three kills apiece from the right side.
In total, Fairfield hit a commanding .432 to post its best team attack percentage of the fall and the best mark in a MAAC contest since hitting .453 in a sweep of Loyola Maryland on Sept. 29, 2007. The offense was run through Manuela Nicolini, who doled out 27 assists to go along with two kills of her own.
In addition to seven O'Sullivan blocks – a count that included four solo rejections – Nicolini and Quinn each had a hand in two of the Stags' nine team blocks. In the back row, Taylor Rudeen guided a balanced defensive effort with 10 digs. Day added eight digs, and Mallory Bechtold posted six. Fairfield's defensive limited the Peacocks to a -.024 hitting percentage; the Stags' last time holding a opponent below .000 was a sweep at Marist (-.011) on Sept. 26, 2012.
The Stags also served up a season-high eight aces in today's contest. Day accounted for a career-best five of those aces, including two instances of delivering back-to-back winners. Bechtold added two aces for Fairfield, and Nicolini posted one to round out the scoring.
Saint Peter's (0-21, 0-14 MAAC) was led by five kills apiece from Marlena Budna and Amanda Colombo. Kaitlyn Sitton distributed 14 assists for the Peacocks from the setter position.
Next weekend, Fairfield embarks on the longest road trip of the MAAC campaign with a visit to Western New York. The Stags challenge Canisius and Niagara on Nov. 5-6 to kick off the regular season's final month after opening October with home sweeps of the Golden Griffins and Purple Eagles. After a Nov. 9 trip to America East foe Stony Brook, Fairfield returns to George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall the next weekend to conclude the regular season against in-state conference foe Quinnipiac on Nov. 12.
The 2016 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship will bring the top six teams in the MAAC to Alumni Hall on Nov. 18-20. As the tournament's top seed, Fairfield will first take the court in the postseason on Nov. 19 in the semifinal round. FairfieldStags.com will provide updated information regarding the MAAC Championship as it is finalized in the coming weeks.
