FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Coming off of a 4-0 weekend at the Crusader Classic, the Fairfield University volleyball team brings its winning streak to George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall for the annual Fairfield Invitational. The Stags (5-3) will host Sacred Heart, James Madison and Villanova for a trio of matches on Sept. 9-10.
Following their dominance in Worcester, the Stags were lauded with their first two MAAC Weekly Awards of the fall. Junior outside hitter Megan Theiller was named the MAAC Player of the Week, and sophomore libero Mallory Bechtold was tabbed as the MAAC Libero of the Week.
The Stags' outside hitting combo of Skyler Day and Theiller top the MAAC with 3.85 and 3.42 kills per set, respectively. Megan O'Sullivan also slots among the conference leaders at ninth with 2.42 kills per frame and ranks third in the MAAC with a .298 hitting percentage. In total, six Stags are averaging at least 1.00 kills per set.
As a unit, Fairfield is hitting .210. The offense has been run by the setting duo of Sydney Buckley and Manuela Nicolini. Buckley has dished out 6.12 assists per frame – in addition to 1.92 digs per set in the back row – while Nicolini has distributed 5.56 assists per set.
Defensively, Bechtold helms the back row with 4.04 digs per set – ranking fifth in the MAAC – with Theiller and Day chipping in with 2.69 and 2.12 digs per stanza, respectively.
Promotions
The Stags will host a serving contest for students at Friday's matches against both Sacred Heart and James Madison. The first 100 students at Saturday's match against Villanova will receive a free Stags Up t-shirt.
Fairfield vs. Sacred Heart
Friday, Sept. 9 @ 1:30 p.m.
FairfieldStags.TV | Live Stats
Sacred Heart comes across town to Alumni Hall with a 2-4 record after posting a 15-14 campaign last fall. The Pioneers' victories have come over Delaware State and George Mason while suffering losses to Eastern Michigan, Maryland, Milwaukee and Dartmouth.
Sarah Krufka has led the Sacred Heart offense with 3.57 kills per set, while Allison Riggs adds 2.19 finishers per set on a team-best .326 hitting. Makayla Dole rounds out the Pioneers' top offensive trio with 2.81 kills per frame on the outside. Kiki Robinson and Lea Lieb share setting duties to the tune of 6.24 and 4.43 assists per outing, respectively, while guiding Sacred Heart to a .179 team hitting percentage.
After last fall's five-set win at Alumni Hall, Fairfield has won eight straight meetings with its crosstown rival to take a 12-4 advantage in the all-time series. The Stags will make the short trip to challenge Sacred Heart later this season on Oct. 12.
Fairfield vs. James Madison
Friday, Sept. 9 @ 7 p.m.
FairfieldStags.TV | Live Stats
After posting a 22-8 record and winning the CAA regular season title in 2015, the Dukes are off to a hot start to this season with a 6-1 mark. The lone blemish on James Madison's slate is a loss to No. 7 Washington; the Dukes' wins include a four-set triumph over MAAC opponent Marist.
Reigning CAA Player of the Year Janey Goodman has shouldered the load offensively with 4.95 kills per frame. She is hitting .336 from the right side for the Dukes. Kelly Robertson adds 1.68 kills per set on .341 hitting. Freshman setter Sarah Martin has piloted James Madison to a .266 team hitting percentage, dishing out 9.27 assists per outing.
This is the first-ever meeting between the Stags and Dukes.
Fairfield vs. Villanova
Saturday, Sept. 10 @ 3 p.m.
Live Stats
Following up on a 25-win campaign that ended with an at-large bid to the NCAA postseason, Villanova is 3-3 against a formidable schedule in the early stages of 2016. The Wildcats' three wins have been sweeps over Florida Gulf Coast, Ohio and Idaho with their three defeats coming to No. 22 Western Kentucky, No. 5 Washington and Seattle.
The well-rounded Villanova offense features 3.74 kills per set from 2015 First Team All-Big East outside hitter Allie Loitz, 2.95 from Amanda Pedersen-Henry and 2.84 off the swing of Claire Crutchfield. Michaela Berendt is hitting at an efficient .349 clip to pile up her 1.46 kills per frame. The attack has been engineered by rookie setter Emma Decker, who had guided the Wildcats to a .228 hitting percentage on the back of 11.16 assists per set.
The Stags and Wildcats are meeting for the first time in 12 years, last convening at Villanova on Sept. 11, 2004. Villanova has won the two most recent encounters in 2003 and 2004 after Fairfield took the first two all-time meetings in 1998 and 1999.
Up Next
Fairfield stays on George Bisacca Court this week to host St. John's on Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 6 p.m. The Red Storm is currently unbeaten at 6-0 with matches against San Francisco, UC Santa Barbara and Brown on the docket prior to the mid-week meeting with the Stags.
