FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University volleyball team gets back to non-conference action on Wednesday, traveling to Stony Brook to meet the Seawolves at 6 p.m. The Stags currently hold the nation's longest active winning streak at 18 matches.
After most recently defeating Niagara, 3-2, on Sunday in Western New York, The Stags stand at 24-5 overall and 17-0 in the MAAC. Fairfield's 24 wins mark the fifth-most in program history, tied with the 2006 squad that won 20 consecutive matches en route to a 24-8 final record. Wednesday's meeting at Stony Brook is Fairfield's first non-conference outing since a 3-2 win over St. John's on Sept. 14 – the victory that began the current 18-match run.
Following Fairfield's 2-0 MAAC road weekend, Skyler Day and Manuela Nicolini have been named the MAAC Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively. Day posted a double-double in both ends of the weekend series to earn her third MAAC Player of the Week nod of the fall. She averaged 5.25 kills on .268 hitting on the outside and aided the defensive effort with 4.00 digs per frame. Nicolini dished out 7.50 assists per set this past week, piloting the attack to a .242 hitting percentage and adding five kills of her own (.333) to the offense. She also contributed 2.00 digs and 0.88 blocks per frame to the defensive effort en route to her second MAAC Rookie of the Week distinction.
Following this week's announcement, Fairfield has won the MAAC Player of the Week award in six consecutive weeks and eight times in 11 weeks this season. The nods for Day and Nicolini this week raise the Stags' totals to 13 MAAC weekly awards garnered by six different student-athletes.
A five-match losing streak has Stony Brook entering Wednesday's match with a record of 6-19 overall and 2-8 in the America East Conference. The Seawolves most recently lost a conference road weekend at Albany and Binghamton, two of the four teams that have qualified for the upcoming AE Championship. Other notable results for Stony Brook this season include a 3-1 win over MAAC foe Iona and a 3-0 loss at Sacred Heart.
Stony Brook is led offensively by McKyla Brooks, who ranks 10th in the America East with 2.61 kills per set and slots at second in the conference with a .307 hitting percentage. Morgan Kath has run the Seawolves' offense to a .188 hitting percentage by way of 9.53 assists per frame (fourth in the America East), and Kardasia Hitchcock guides the defensive effort with 3.00 digs per set.
The Stags are 4-2 all-time against Stony Brook in a series that dates back to 3-0 Fairfield win on Oct. 25, 2000. The most recent meeting saw the Stags take a 3-1 decision on Sept. 5, 2014 as a part of the Columbia Invitational in New York City. The Seawolves were victorious in the only meeting between the clubs on their home court, claiming a 3-0 win on Oct. 5, 2004. Stony Brook was a part of the six-team Fairfield Invitational last fall but did not play the host Stags during their weekend in Connecticut.
Fairfield returns to George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall this weekend to conclude the regular season against in-state MAAC foe Quinnipiac on Nov. 12. Prior to the match, the Stags will recognize senior Megan O'Sullivan in her final regular season match at Alumni Hall.
The 2016 MAAC Championship will bring the top six teams in the conference to Alumni Hall on Nov. 18-20. As the MAAC Regular Season Champion and top seed, Fairfield will first take the court in the postseason on Nov. 19 at 2 p.m. in the semifinal round.
The five teams joining Fairfield in the tournament are Marist, Niagara, Quinnipiac, Rider and Siena. The seeding for those squads will be determined by results during the final weekend of the regular season. FairfieldStags.com will provide updated information regarding the MAAC Championship as it is finalized by the conference office.
