FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Volleyball hits the road for the final time in the 2017 regular season, heading to New Jersey this weekend to challenge Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) opponents Saint Peter's and Rider. The Stags can clinch a MAAC Regular Season Championship with two wins this weekend in the Garden State.
 
Fairfield (18-6, 13-0 MAAC) clinched a first-round bye in the upcoming MAAC Championship with Wednesday's 3-1 win over Marist. Two victories will give the Stags at least a share of their 17th regular season crown since 1996, while two victories coupled with a Niagara loss (at Siena, at Marist) would lock up the outright title for Fairfield.
 
"As a team, we don't discuss things like that," said Head Coach Todd Kress. "If anything, we're talking about the pressure that we'll face from the other side of the net as our opponents are battling to get into the postseason or for positioning in the tournament."
 
Currently, Fairfield and Niagara are the only two teams to have officially clinched their place in the MAAC Championship, which will be held at Alumni Hall from Nov. 17-19. Marist, Rider, Canisius, Iona, Quinnipiac and Siena are all within three matches of each other in the loss column and the six teams jockey for the four remaining playoff berths.
 
"First and foremost, we need to take care of ourselves," Kress continued. "We need to be better than we were on Wednesday from a number of different standpoints – distributing the ball, shot selection and how we adjust and react to adversity."
 
The Stags' win over Marist on Wednesday came by a count of 3-1. All four sets featured at least two ties and one lead change, wrapping up with 16 deadlocks and seven lead changes in total. The Stags trailed by four points in three of four sets, erasing that margin in each instance en route to the victory.
 
Highlighting the effort on Wednesday was Taylor Rudeen, who racked up a match-best 23 digs to eclipse 1,000 for her career. Rudeen finished the night with 1,002 career digs as the 16th member of Fairfield's 1,000 Dig Club – a list that includes teammate Megan Theiller (1,112 digs, 12th all-time). The junior has played every set at libero for the Stags this fall and ranks third in the MAAC with 4.51 digs per set.
 
Fairfield at Saint Peter's
Saturday, Nov. 4 @ 1 p.m.
Live Video | Live Stats
 
Saint Peter's welcomes the Stags to Jersey City in search of their first win of the season. The Peacocks (0-27, 0-15 MAAC) most recently dropped a 3-1 decision at Manhattan this past Wednesday.
 
Alexus Sharp leads the Saint Peter's attack with 2.06 kills per set as one of five Peacocks averaging over one kill per frame. A trio of setters has shared time running the offense – Wildalys Soto, Carolina Ruiz and Imani Spicer. Soto leads that group with 4.26 helpers per set. The defensive effort is guided by libero Karla Seda with 2.95 digs per stanza.
 
In the first meeting between the Stags and Peacocks – a 3-0 sweep for Fairfield on Sept. 24 at Alumni Hall – Mayda Garcia hit .364 en route to a match-high 11 kills. Skyler Day added nine kills and a match-leading 13 digs, and Kaitlyn Fisher sent home six kills in two sets of action.
 
Saint Peter's was led offensively by six kills on .308 hitting from Alexus Sharp. Carolina Ruiz and Imani Spicer shared setting duties and finished with nine and six assists, respectively. Ruiz also led the back row with 10 digs, while Karla Seda added nine.
 
Fairfield at Rider
Sunday, Nov. 5 @ Noon
BroncVision | Live Stats
 
After a split on the road last weekend – a win at Marist followed by a loss at Siena – Rider enters this weekend with a record of 14-12 overall and 8-6 in the MAAC. The Broncs will host Quinnipiac on Saturday prior to challenging the Stags on Sunday.
 
Rider boasts the best hitting percentage in the MAAC at .197, engineered by reigning MAAC Setter of the Year Veronica Koval. Koval currently ranks second in the MAAC – behind Fairfield's Manuela Nicolini – with 9.29 assists per set. The attack is led by Hailey Riede, who rates fifth in the conference with 3.05 kills per set and slots sixth with a .278 hitting percentage. Jennifer Borio, who did not play in the first meeting between the Broncs and Stags, adds 2.46 kills per stanza. Libero Emma Aldaya slots fifth in the MAAC with 4.19 digs per set and Evelyn Shanefield ranks third at the net with 0.91 blocks per frame (85 total).
 
On Sept. 23 at Alumni Hall, the Stags claimed a 3-1 victory over the Broncs. Skyler Day posted a double-double with a match-best 21 kills to go along with 12 digs. Kaitlyn Fisher and Mayda Garcia also reached double figures in kills with 10 apiece. The offense was managed by Manuela Nicolini, who distributed 45 assists and dumped over six kills of her own as well as 11 digs and seven blocks. Taylor Rudeen helmed the back row from the libero spot and notched a match-leading 14 digs.
 
Hailey Riede led Rider with 11 kills. Veronica Koval distributed 25 assists for the Broncs and posted nine digs to match libero Emma Aldaya's team-high output in the back row.
 
Up Next
Action returns to George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall next Wednesday, Nov. 8 for a 7 p.m. visit from Siena. The Stags will then cap the regular season at home with weekend contests against Niagara and Canisius. All three matches are set to broadcast live on the Stags Sports Network.