FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Following a 3-1 win at Marist on Wednesday evening, the Fairfield University volleyball team returns home to George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall for a pair of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference matches. The Stags will host Niagara on Saturday, Oct. 1 and Canisius on Sunday, Oct. 2 with both contests set for a 1 p.m. first serve.
Fairfield brings a six-match winning streak back to Alumni Hall, running its record to 12-5 overall and 5-0 in the MAAC. The Stags have won 14 straight MAAC regular season outings and eight consecutive home conference matches dating back to last fall.
In Wednesday's win at Marist, Megan Theiller posted a double-double with 15 kills and 11 digs. Her foil on the outside, Skyler Day, led the Stags with 18 finishers and neared a double-double of her own nine digs. The offense was run through the setting duo of Sydney Buckley and Manuela Nicolini. Buckley dished out 35 assists in addition to seven digs, while Nicolini distributed 10 helpers and notched one kill of her own to round out the Fairfield attack.
Defensively, Mallory Bechtold led the way from the libero spot with 21 digs, and Taylor Rudeen added nine. The Stags totaled five blocks in the contest with Theiller and Megan O'Sullivan each playing a part in three rejections. Fairfield's defensive effort limited the Red Foxes to a .144 hitting percentage.
For the season, Fairfield continues to lead the MAAC in kills (13.47 per set), assists (12.60 per set) and digs (14.78 per set). The Stags also rank second in hitting percentage at .224 while holding opponents to a conference-low .160 attack percentage.
Individually, Day and Theiller lead the MAAC with 3.78 and 3.76 kills per frame, respectively. The duo is separated by just one finisher, with Day hammering home 219 and Theiller posting 218 thus far in 2016. Theiller also slots seventh in the conference with a .243 hitting percentage, joining Kaitlyn Fisher (third, .292) and Megan O'Sullivan (ninth, .239) as three of the most efficient attackers in the MAAC.
Defensively, Mallory Bechtold slots seventh in digs with 3.98 per set, and O'Sullivan is fifth in the league in blocks with 0.89 rejections per frame.
The Stags split the season series with both Niagara and Canisius last fall, going 0-2 in Western New York to open the MAAC slate then avenging both losses at Alumni Hall later in the year. Fairfield is 30-10 all-time against the Purple Eagles and holds a 27-12 advantage in the all-time series with the Golden Griffins.
Saturday's meeting with Niagara will also be the 1,000th match in Fairfield volleyball history, dating back to the first varsity season of 1985. The Stags are 561-438 (.562) all-time as a program, including a 146-72 (.670) record under Head Coach Todd Kress.
Two more MAAC contests are on tap for the Stags next week. Fairfield visits Siena (3-11, 2-2 MAAC) on Wednesday, Oct. 5 before a short trip to Hamden on Saturday, Oct. 8 to challenge upstart Quinnipiac (13-5, 5-0 MAAC). The Stags and Bobcats are the only remaining teams with unblemished MAAC records entering the month of October.
Fairfield vs. Niagara
Saturday, Oct. 1 at 1 p.m.
FairfieldStags.TV | Live Stats
After sweeping a home weekend against Rider and Saint Peter's, the Niagara Purple Eagles come to Alumni Hall with a record of 4-12 overall and 2-2 in the MAAC. Niagara's conference losses came on the road to Siena and Marist.
The Stags and Purple Eagles shared only one opponent in the non-conference portion of their schedules. Niagara dropped a 3-1 decision to St. John's on Sept. 2, while the Stags upset the visiting Red Storm in five sets on Sept. 14.
The Purple Eagles are led offensively by Madison May and Nicole Matheis with 2.89 and 2.82 kills per set. Alex Stone adds 1.44 finishers per frame while heading the action at the net with 62 total blocks. Alexis Gray runs the offense to a .150 clip with 6.79 assists per set; the Niagara setter also rates second in the MAAC with 0.41 service aces per set (25 in 61 sets). In the back row, Rylee Hunt ranks third in the MAAC with 4.41 digs per set.
Fairfield vs. Canisius
Sunday, Oct. 2 at 1 p.m.
Live Stats
Canisius enters the weekend at 3-10 on the season 1-3 in the MAAC, earning a home win over Saint Peter's while falling to Marist, Siena and Rider in the opening stages of conference play. The Golden Griffins will visit Quinnipiac on Saturday before visiting Alumni Hall to wrap up their weekend stay in the Nutmeg State.
2015 First Team All-MAAC performer Katlyn Tyler fuels the Canisius offense with 3.11 kills per set from the outside. She matches that number in the back row with a team-leading 3.11 digs per stanza. Sara Wesley adds 2.02 kills per frame in an offense engineered by Cassidy Ceriani to the tune of 7.44 assists per set and a .136 team hitting percentage.
Joining Tyler as the Golden Griffins' defensive standouts are Kristen Plukas and Ceriani with 2.31 and 2.29 digs per set, respectively. Leah Simmons has had a hand in 35 of Canisius's 73 total blocks.
