FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Volleyball returns to George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall this Saturday to host in-state Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) foe Quinnipiac. First serve in the rematch of the 2016 MAAC Championship Match is slated for 5 p.m. and will be broadcast live on the
Stags Sports Network.
In conjunction with Saturday's match, Fairfield will celebrate its nine MAAC Championships (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016). Alumnae from the previous MAAC Championship squads will be recognized during the match. There will also be a post-match reception at Alumni House that will include the 2016 MAAC Champion Stags receiving their championship rings.
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The Stags enter Saturday's match at 11-6 overall and riding a seven-match winning streak. Fairfield is the last remaining unbeaten MAAC squad at 6-0 in conference play following a 3-2 victory at Niagara on Sunday.
Skyler Day posted a pair of career highs with 30 kills and 23 digs –
earning MAAC Player of the Week laurels in the process – to highlight a performance that saw eight Stags register at least three kills and 10 players notch at least one dig.
"It was great team win. A lot of people stepped up at critical times throughout the match," said Head Coach
Todd Kress of his team's outing against the Purple Eagles. "To go up to Niagara and win in their gym – which I think is one of the tougher places to win in the MAAC – you have to have everyone contributing and, fortunately, we did that on Sunday."
This past weekend in Western New York, senior co-captain
Megan Theiller took the court for the first time this season. She totaled 21 digs to aid the effort in the back row in the wins at Canisius in Niagara.
"Theiller brings a certain leadership quality with her on the court. So having her back from that standpoint was big for us. And also having her back in the passing rotation opened things up for us offensively and took some defensive pressure off Skyler and our middles. We hope to have her back as a six-rotation player soon."
A 2016 First Team All-MAAC honoree, Theiller was also recognized earlier this week as
one of 30 candidates nationwide for the Senior CLASS Award.
Fairfield vs. Quinnipiac
Saturday, Oct. 7 @ 5 p.m.
Stags Sports Network | Live Stats
Quinnipiac visits Alumni Hall this Saturday with a record of 6-15 overall and 5-3 in MAAC play. The Bobcats were most recently swept by Marist at home on Wednesday evening after a 1-1 trip to Western New York last weekend.
Natalie Alechko paces Quinnipiac offensively with 2.94 kills per set. Alechko is currently riding a streak of five consecutive outings with 10 or more kills, including three double-doubles. Maria Pansari has run the attack to a .174 hitting percentage while distributing 7.15 assists per set. In the back row, Alejandra Rodriguez has totaled 2.90 digs per frame from the libero spot, with Alechko adding 2.49 digs per stanza.
"Quinnipiac does good things in the middle, their setter is solid, and I think they have one of the best liberos in the conference," Kress said. "We're going to need to be ready to go and operating on an even higher level than we did on Sunday."
The Bobcats have recently been without standout performers Jen Coffey, Elizabeth Kloos and Kat Miller – all of whom average at least 2.00 kills per set – due to injury. The status of all three student-athletes for this weekend is questionable.
FYE Event
This game will be a 'Connect' event for all FYE students. Be sure to swipe your StagCard to be recognized for attending the match and supporting the Stags.
Up Next
The Stags round out their first trip through the MAAC schedule next weekend with visits to Marist (7-10, 4-2 MAAC) and Siena (1-16, 1-5 MAAC) on Oct. 14-15. The following weekend, Fairfield completes the annual home-and-home series with Manhattan and Iona at Alumni Hall on Oct. 21-22.
