FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Volleyball completes the first round of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play this weekend with trips to Marist and Siena. The Stags will visit the Red Foxes on Saturday, Oct. 14 and head to Loudonville to tangle with the Saints on Sunday, Oct. 15. First serve in both matches is set for 1 p.m.
 
Winners of their last eight matches, the Stags are 7-0 in the MAAC as a part of 12-6 overall record. At the beginning of this weekend's slate – which begins Thursday when Canisius visits Niagara – Fairfield is two matches in the loss column ahead of Niagara and Marist (both 6-2). The tightly-packed top of the standings continues with Iona at 6-3, Quinnipiac at 5-4, and Rider and Canisius both sitting at 4-4.
 
"There's not much separation between the top seven teams," noted Head Coach Todd Kress. "There have been a ton of five-set matches, with a point here and there separating wins from losses. We've been fortunate to have been on the positive end of a few of those matches that could have gone either way."
 
"I like where we are at as a team right now," Kress continued. "We're still not a finished product, but I think we're better than we were a few weeks ago. We need to be better from a defensive standpoint and need to be more aggressive in our serving game. Those are things we'll continue to work on heading into this weekend and right up into November."
 
Most recently, the Stags swept Quinnipiac on Saturday, Oct. 7 in a rematch of the 2016 MAAC Championship Match. Rookie middles Kaylie Butts and Luci Albertson combined for 18 kills on 23 errorless swings to power the Stags to victory. As a unit, Fairfield hit a season-high .418 – the best single-match mark by a MAAC team this fall – in dispatching the visiting Bobcats. With 11 kills on 13 swings, Butts is the seventh freshman in the nation this season to record 11 or more kills in a match without an error.
 
Fairfield's attack also featured 12 kills from reigning MAAC Player of the Year Skyler Day on .345 hitting. Manuela Nicolini dumped over two kills of her own in addition to distributing 35 assists to manage the offense.
 
Fairfield's defensive effort was guided by 15 digs from Taylor Rudeen out of the libero spot, with Nicolini adding 11 to round out a double-double. Day just missed her own double-double, as she added nine from the back row, and Megan Theiller contributed eight digs. Nicolini played a part in four blocks to lead the Stags at the net.
 
Fairfield at Marist
Saturday, Oct. 14 @ 1 p.m.
Red Fox Network | Live Stats
 
Marist welcomes the Stags to McCann Arena boasting a record of 9-10 overall and 6-2 in the MAAC. The Red Foxes are on a three-match winning streak with recent victories over Quinnipiac, Saint Peter's and Rider. Marist is 2-2 on its home court this fall.
 
Nikki DeSerpa and reigning MAAC Player of the Week Kelsey Ediger lead the Red Foxes offensively with 3.12 and 2.61 kills per set, respectively, while 2016 MAAC Rookie of the Year Megan Fergus adds 2.27 kills per frame on .205 hitting from the right side. The Marist attack is run to a .169 clip by Taylor van der Biezen, who has dished out 8.56 assists per stanza and ranks third in the MAAC with 30 service aces.
 
"I think Marist is one of the best offensive teams in the MAAC right now. They distribute the ball very well," said Kress. "Both outside hitters are playing well, and Megan Fergus is one of the better athletes in the conference, putting up a big block and scoring for them on the right side."
 
The dual threat of Ashton Korona and Stephanie Stone leads the defensive effort at the net with 44 and 43 blocks, respectively. In the back row, libero Katie Brierley ranks seventh in the conference with a team-leading 3.57 digs per set.
 
The Stags won both meetings with the Red Foxes last fall and have defeated Marist in five straight encounters, including the 2015 MAAC Championship Match.
 
Fairfield at Siena
Sunday, Oct. 15 @ 1 p.m.
Live Stats
 
After graduating seven seniors following the 2016 campaign, including a former MAAC Player of the Year and a former MAAC Setter of the Year, the Siena Saints are 2-17 overall and 2-6 in the conference entering this weekend.  Siena has split its last two MAAC weekends, most recently falling to Rider in straight sets before rallying from a 2-0 deficit to top Saint Peter's, 3-2, last Sunday in Jersey City. The Saints will host Quinnipiac for a Saturday afternoon tilt before challenging the Stags on Sunday.
 
The Siena offense is paced by 2.29 kills per set from Dakota Jackson, one of the top scoring freshmen in the MAAC, while Samantha Pethokoukis is the Saints' most efficient hitter at .197 en route to 1.32 kills per frame from the middle. Pethokoukis has also racked up a team-leading 39 blocks.
 
Two of Siena's six freshmen have joined the starting lineup at the setter and libero positions. Jess Eblin has distributed 7.43 assists per frame managing the Saints' attack, and Jojo Ishida rates sixth in the MAAC with 3.65 digs per frame from the back row.
 
"Coach Pierre has a lot of young talent this year, and they've improved with every weekend and every match," Kress said. "Dakota Jackson has put up good numbers for them, and Pethokoukis is doing a nice job from a leadership standpoint and also defensively on the block. Their gym is a difficult place to play, and we expect a tough match from Siena as always."
 
Including the semifinals of the 2016 MAAC Championship, the Stags defeated Siena in three matches last season and have won six in a row against the Saints dating back to 2014.
 
Up Next
MAAC action returns to George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall next weekend as Fairfield hosts Manhattan and Iona on Oct. 21-22. The Sunday, Oct. 22 meeting with the Gaels is the annual "Herd for a Cure" match. The Stags will be selling t-shirts and collecting donations to benefit the Norma Pfriem Breast Center.