FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The annual trek to western New York awaits Fairfield University Volleyball this weekend as the Stags prepare for Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action at Canisius and Niagara. Fairfield brings a five-match winning streak and record of 9-6 overall (4-0 MAAC) into the weekend.
 
"I think the team looks forward to this trip as a chance for some team bonding," said Head Coach Todd Kress. "That being said, the long ride something we have to prepare for as far as getting our legs under us in practice and being ready to go mentally once we get up there."
 
The Stags are coming off of an unbeaten MAAC home weekend comprised of a 3-1 victory over Rider and a sweep of visiting Saint Peter's. For her performance in the pair of wins, Manuela Nicolini was selected as the MAAC Player of the Week for the first time in her career. The triumphs ran Fairfield's streak to 35 consecutive wins over MAAC opponents – the third-longest active winning streak against conference foes in the nation.
 
Fairfield at Canisius
Saturday, Sept. 30 @ 1 p.m.
Live Stats
 
Canisius welcomes the Stags to Buffalo on Saturday sporting a record of 4-10 overall and 2-2 in the MAAC. Thus far in conference play, the Golden Griffins have swept Saint Peter's and Siena for their two wins and were on the short side of straight-set losses to Rider and Marist. Canisius went 7-20 overall in 2016 with a 5-13 MAAC tally.
 
Claire Leonard leads the Griffs with 2.96 kills per set to rank fourth overall and tops among freshmen in the MAAC. Sara Wesley in the MAAC's most efficient hitter, leading a strong corps of Canisius middles with a .338 hitting percentage en route to 2.42 kills per set. Leah Simmons adds 2.16 kills per frame from the middle of the Griffs' attack.
 
Managing the Canisius offense is Cassidy Ceriani, who has the attack humming at a .164 clip while distributing 8.38 assists per stanza.
 
"Canisius will be a tough matchup for us. We need to serve aggressively to keep them out of system so they can't run their middles as often as they have been," Kress said.
 
On the defensive end, Sofia Lopez Acosta records 3.79 digs per stanza with Ceriani contributing 2.52 per set from the back row. Wesley has had a hand in 36 of the Griffs' 72 team blocks, with Simmons and Samantha Zebuth each playing a part in 18 rejections.
 
The Stags swept the Griffs in both regular season meetings last fall.
 
Fairfield at Niagara
Sunday, Oct. 1 @ 1 p.m.
Niagara Sports Network | Live Stats
 
Niagara enters the weekend as the MAAC's hottest team with a seven-match winning streak. The Purple Eagles, who will host Quinnipiac on Saturday before entertaining the Stags, are 8-5 on the season and 4-0 in the MAAC with wins over Saint Peter's, Rider, Marist and Siena.
 
2016 Second Team All-MAAC selection Nicole Matheis leads the Niagara attack with 2.74 kills per set as one of seven Purple Eagles to record more than one kill per frame. Jaycie Roberts adds 2.06 finishers per set and Draik Banks is hitting a team-leading .267 to post 1.59 kills per stanza. Rachel Hall, Meghan Higley and Alexis Gray have all seen action at the setter position, with Hall's 4.93 assists per set leading the way. Niagara is hitting a collective .145 this fall.
 
In the back row, two-time MAAC Libero of the Year Rylee Hunt leads the conference and ranks eighth in the nation with 5.96 digs per set. Roberts and Matheis have contributed to the defensive effort with 2.81 and 2.74 digs per frame, respectively. The work at the net is led by a MAAC-best 0.93 blocks per set (43 total blocks) from Banks.
 
"I think Niagara is playing the best volleyball of anybody in the conference right now. They're low error and they play very well defensively," noted Kress. "Rylee Hunt was recognized as co-Libero of the Year last year and she's living up to that again as one of their five seniors who all contribute regularly. This is a year where I expected them to be good, so it's not surprising that they're playing well."
 
Should the Stags and Niagara both win their Saturday match-up, this Sunday's clash will leave the MAAC with only one remaining unbeaten team. Last season, the Stags swept the Purple Eagles at Alumni Hall on Oct. 1 and outlast host Niagara in five sets in the return match on Nov. 6.
 
Champions Weekend
Up next, Fairfield Volleyball will host Champions Weekend in conjunction with their Saturday, Oct. 7 visit from Quinnipiac. First serve from George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall is slated for 5 p.m. with all of the action set to air live on the Stags Sports Network. The Stags will recognize their nine MAAC Championship teams during the match, including the 20th anniversary of the 1997 MAAC Champions. Click here for more information.