FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Coming off of a three-match home weekend, the Fairfield University volleyball team is back on George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall on Wednesday evening for a 6 p.m. visit from St. John's. The Red Storm is the Stags' second consecutive Big East foe after challenging Villanova to conclude the Fairfield Invitational on Saturday.
Fairfield (6-5) defeated James Madison at its home tournament, a victory sandwiched in between losses to Sacred Heart and Villanova. Megan Theiller matched her career best of 22 kills in the 3-1 win over the Dukes en route to sharing the tournament high of 4.30 kills per set. Theiller, who also ranked fifth overall and first among non-liberos with 2.90 digs per frame for the weekend, was the Stags' representative on the All-Tournament Team.
For the season, Skyler Day and Theiller lead the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) with 3.81 and 3.67 kills per set, respectively. Megan O'Sullivan adds to the attack from the middle of the Fairfield offense, sending home 2.06 kills per frame.
As a unit, the Stags are hitting .202, guided by the setting duo of Sydney Buckley and Manuela Nicolini. Buckley has distributed 5.80 assists per frame with Nicolini adding 5.60 assists per stanza. Collectively, the tandem has boosted the Stags to the top of the MAAC with 13.22 kills and 12.42 assists per set.
Defensively, Mallory Bechtold ranks fourth in the MAAC with a team-leading 4.18 digs per frame from the libero spot. Theiler and Day add 2.75 and 2.06 digs per set, respectively, with Buckley and Taylor Rudeen each contributing 1.74 digs per outing. At the net, O'Sullivan has been a part of 32 of Fairfield's 56 team blocks. Oyinkansola Akinola has had a hand in 18 rejections, and Nicolini played a role in 14 Fairfield send-backs.
The St. John's University Red Storm is off to a fast start in 2016 with an 8-1 record. Notable wins include victories over MAAC opponents Iona and Niagara and, most recently, a sweep of Brown – who the Stags also defeated in straight sets earlier this season. The Red Storm went 18-15 last fall, marking its fourth straight campaign with a record of .500 or better.
Julia Cast and Margherita Bianchin have led the St. John's attack with 3.79 and 3.66 kills per set, respectively. Cast, a 2015 Second Team All-Big East selection, adds a .299 hitting percentage on the right side with Bianchin just a step behind her on the outside at .298. Danisha Moss has been a force in the middle with 1.24 kills per frame on .299 hitting to go along with a Big East-leading 1.62 blocks per set (14th nationally).
Erica Di Maulo runs the Red Storm offense from the setter position, doling out 11.17 assists per set. She has piloted the club to a .288 hitting percentage while adding 16 kills of her own on .464 hitting in her 29 sets of action. Di Maulo also leads the back row with 2.76 digs per frame as one of five players averaging more than 2.00 digs per set.
St. John's leads the all-time series by a 6-2 count. The Stags and Red Storm have not met since Sept. 1, 2007 – a straight-set victory for St. John's at Carnesecca Arena. Fairfield's last win in the series was a sweep during the Stags' 1999 MAAC Championship campaign.
After the midweek match, the Stags begin the official defense of their 2015 MAAC Championship, hitting the road this weekend to meet Saint Peter's and Rider on Sept. 17-18. The meetings with the conference's New Jersey contingent will start a run of nine straight MAAC matches for the Stags. Fairfield returns home to George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall on Sept. 24-25 to host Manhattan and Iona in conference action.
