FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University volleyball team completes its first trip through the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) on Saturday with a short jaunt up to Quinnipiac. The Stags head to the Bobcats' Burt Kahn Court riding a nine-match winning streak.
Fairfield comes into the weekend at 15-5 overall and 8-0 in the MAAC. Dating back to last fall, the Stags have won 17 consecutive MAAC regular season contests. Quinnipiac is 14-6 overall and 6-1 in the conference; both win totals are program records for the Bobcats since joining the Division I ranks in 1998.
The Stags most recently took the court on Wednesday, earning a 3-1 victory at Siena. Fairfield was guided by double-doubles from the outside hitting tandem of Skyler Day and Megan Theiller. Day's double-double included a match-high 16 kills, and the reigning MAAC Player of the Week also picked up 11 digs and a pair of blocks as a part of the Stags' defensive effort. The team-leading ninth double-double of the fall for Theiller consisted of 14 kills and 13 digs. She added three blocks and three service aces for Fairfield. On the season, Day and Theiller lead the MAAC with 3.91 and 3.82 kills per set, respectively.
The Stags lead the MAAC in kills (13.53 per set), assists (12.71 per set) and digs (15.09 per set). They are also ranked 12th nationally with a conference-leading .149 opponent hitting percentage. Fairfield's own hitting percentage of .231 slots them at second in the MAAC behind the Bobcats.
Quinnipiac is led this fall by five players averaging more than 2.00 kills per set. Jen Coffey heads the effort on the outside with a team-high 2.96 finishers per frame, with the duo of Elizabeth Kloos and Allison Leigh helming the middle to the tune of 2.21 and 2.11 kills per set. Kloos and Leigh are hitting .324 and .319, respectively, as a part of the MAAC's most efficient attack with a team attack percentage of .238.
The lone blemish on Quinnipiac's MAAC record was its most recent outing – a 3-2 home loss to Niagara on Oct. 2. In addition to the Stags, the Bobcats are also yet to challenge Marist during the conference slate. In the non-conference portion of the schedule, Fairfield and Quinnipiac both challenged Bryant, UMass Lowell and Holy Cross. The Stags bested all three New England foes back in September, while the Bobcats topped the Bulldogs but lost to the River Hawks and Crusaders.
Fairfield leads the all-time series with Quinnipiac by an 8-2 count. Quinnipiac won the first two meetings in 1985 and 1986 – back when the team was nicknamed the Braves – and the Stags won a 1987 encounter. The series then lay dormant until a 2012 Fairfield win, and the Stags have swept the MAAC home-and-home series in each of the past three seasons.
The winner of Saturday's match will occupy the top spot in the MAAC standings as the conference calendar approaches its midway point. The teams will meet at George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall on Nov. 12 in the regular season finale for both clubs.
Fairfield makes another short road trip on Wednesday, Oct. 12 as the Stags travel across town to challenge Sacred Heart (11-6, 4-0 NEC). Action returns to Alumni Hall on Oct. 15-16 as the second round of MAAC play begins with visits from Siena and Marist.
