FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Volleyball makes the short trip up I-91 to Hamden on Friday night for a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) match at Quinnipiac. The first-place Stags head to Burt Kahn Court looking to sweep the home-and-home series from the Bobcats after upending QU in straight sets at Alumni Hall on Oct. 7.
 
This past weekend, the Stags moved to 16-6 overall and 11-0 in the MAAC with home wins over Manhattan and Iona. In dispatching the Jaspers and Gaels, Fairfield established a new record with 38 consecutive MAAC regular season victories. The previous mark of 37 straight MAAC regular season wins belonged to the 1997-2001 Stags.
 
"Both of those eras of Fairfield Volleyball are defined by student-athletes that strive to excel both in the classroom and on the court," said Head Coach Todd Kress, who coached the Stags from 1995-98 and has been back at the helm since 2014. "Both groups were overachievers; their determination and preparation led to their success."
 
The 2-0 showing for the Stags last weekend was led by Skyler Day, who hammered home 5.00 kills per set on .433 hitting en route to her third MAAC Player of the Week selection of the fall. The reigning MAAC Player of the Year also contributed to the defensive effort against Manhattan and Iona with 3.33 digs per stanza. She completed a double-double with 12 kills (.367) and 11 digs on Saturday and fell just shy of another double-double with 18 kills (.500) and nine digs on Sunday.
 
For the season, Day leads the MAAC with 3.76 kills per set and ranks second in the conference with 4.01 points per frame. Also among MAAC leaders, Manuela Nicolini tops the conference with 10.19 assists per set, and Taylor Rudeen ranks third with 4.42 digs per stanza. Additionally, Kaylie Butts' .240 hitting percentage is seventh in the MAAC overall and second among rookies, Sonja Radulovic slots ninth with 0.34 service aces per set (27 total) and Mayda Garcia is 10th in kills with 2.64 finishers per set.
 
As a unit, the Stags lead the MAAC in kills (12.96 per set), assists (12.38 per set) and opponent hitting percentage (.148) while ranking second in hitting percentage (.188) and blocks (1.93 per set) and third in digs (16.09 per set).
 
Fairfield at Quinnipiac
Friday, Oct. 27 @ 7 p.m.
Quinnipiac All-Access | Live Stats
 
With Sunday's win over Manhattan, Quinnipiac snapped a five-match losing streak to move to 7-19 on the season with a 6-7 MAAC tally. The Stags sweep of the Bobcats earlier this month was a part of that five-match skid.
 
Natalie Alechko leads Quinnipiac with 2.90 kills per set – good for seventh in the MAAC – with setter Maria Pansari handing out 7.69 assists per frame while running the attack at a .168 clip. Pansari also rates second in the MAAC with 0.45 service aces per set (43 total). Defensively, libero Alejandra Rodriguez boasts a team-leading 2.93 digs per set to rank eighth in the conference in the back row.
 
"Alechko is playing well, Morgan Sherwin (1.32 kills/set) is putting up good numbers and we know Pansari will make good decisions at setter," said Kress of the Bobcats. "We know it's going to be a tough match – it's a rivalry match – and we need to be ready to go."
 
The Bobcats have been without three starters for the month of October. Kat Miller recently returned to the rotation this past weekend, while Elizabeth Kloos and Jen Coffey remain sidelined. Their status for this Friday is questionable.
 
Up Next
The Stags return home to George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall next Wednesday, Nov. 1 for a visit from Marist (11, 8-3 MAAC). First serve is slated for 7 p.m. with all of the action set to broadcast live on the Stags Sports Network.