FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University volleyball team returns home to George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall this Saturday to host in-state Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference foe Quinnipiac. Prior to the 1 p.m. first serve, the Stags will recognize senior Megan O'Sullivan for her four years of dedication to the program.
The first 200 Fairfield students in attendance on Saturday will receive a Fairfield Stags tumbler.
While it won't be the final match played at Alumni Hall this fall – the Stags are set to host the 2016 MAAC Championship on Nov. 18-20 – the match will conclude Fairfield's regular season MAAC slate. At 17-0 in MAAC play, the Stags are eying only the second unbeaten conference slate since the MAAC expanded the schedule to 18 matches in 2006. The 2006 Fairfield team posted the first and only 18-0 record in MAAC history.
After rallying to upend Stony Brook in five sets on Wednesday – their second consecutive 3-2 win – the Stags are 25-5 overall and riding a 19-match winning streak. The run is the nation's longest active streak and the fourth-longest in program history. Fairfield's 25 wins mark the fifth time that the program has reached that plateau, most recently doing so in 2000 as a part of a 26-7 campaign.
The Stags have clinched the MAAC Regular Season Championship and the top seed in the upcoming MAAC Championship, earning a bye to next Saturday's semifinal round. Quinnipiac (19-11, 11-6) will take the court in the hunt for the second seed and a bye, though Marist needs to win just one of its final two conference matches (at Saint Peter's, at Rider) to secure that spot.
The Stags, Bobcats and Red Foxes will be joined in the postseason by Niagara, Rider and Siena. Entering the final weekend of the regular season, only Fairfield's top seed has been officially determined.
The season's first meeting between Fairfield and Quinnipiac saw the Stags take a 3-0 sweep in Hamden on Oct. 8 to improve to 9-2 all-time against the Bobcats. Skyler Day hammered home 22 kills to lead the Fairfield offense, and Megan Theiller added 15 finishers. Megan O'Sullivan added eight kills on 16 errorless swings (.500) from the middle of the attack. The Stags' offense was run to a .398 clip by setters Sydney Buckley and Manuela Nicolini. Buckley doled out 22 assists while Nicolini dispensed 24 and recorded four kills of her own on five errorless swings.
Defensively, Mallory Bechtold headed the effort from the libero spot with 22 digs. At the net, O'Sullivan was a part of all three of the Stags' blocks. She teamed up with Nicolini for two rejections and partnered with Theiller for one send-back.
Quinnipiac's attack was led by 15 kills from Jen Coffey, who hit .306 on the outside. Maria Pansari dished out a match-best 32 assists while guiding the Bobcats to a .226 attack percentage, and Kat Miller had a team-leading 10 digs.
After this weekend, the Stags turn their attention to the 2016 MAAC Championship at Alumni Hall on Nov. 18-20. As the MAAC Regular Season Champion and top seed in the tournament, Fairfield will first take the court in the postseason on Nov. 19 at 2 p.m. in the semifinal round. FairfieldStags.com will provide updated information regarding the MAAC Championship as it is finalized by the conference office.
