FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Volleyball opens a five-match Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) road stretch on Wednesday night with a trip to Siena. First serve from Loudonville is slated for 7 p.m.
The Stags most recently erased an 0-2 deficit – the second time they have done so during the MAAC slate this fall – to take a 3-2 victory over visiting Quinnipiac on Saturday evening on George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall. Fairfield has won its last six matches, moving to 7-8 overall and 6-0 in the MAAC. Saturday's comeback extended the nation's longest conference winning streak to 57 consecutive matches (including postseason).
Fairfield heads to Siena led offensively by
Mayda Garcia, who tops the MAAC with 3.91 kills per set. Garcia's numbers have been bolstered during the conference slate, where she is averaging 4.94 kills per stanza against MAAC foes.
Luci Albertson sparked the attack this past week with 2.25 kills per set on .517 hitting, including a career-high 13 kills on .524 hitting in the Saturday win over Quinnipiac.
Alexis Rich, who has won back-to-back MAAC Rookie of the Week nods, ranks second in the MAAC with 10.26 assists per frame. Her most recent effort – a 59-assist outing against Quinnipiac – marked the fifth-most assists in a match during the rally scoring era in Fairfield Volleyball history.
Defensively,
Taylor Rudeen has continued her strong senior campaign as the Stags libero. She currently ranks third in the MAAC with 4.49 digs per set and has vaulted into eighth all-time at Fairfield with 1,347 career digs. At the net, Albertson leads the charge with 31 blocks – good for second in the MAAC at 0.91 rejections per set. Fairfield's defensive effort has limited opponents to a MAAC-leading .173 hitting percentage this fall.
Siena welcomes the Stags to the ARC with a record of 1-15 overall and 0-5 in the MAAC. The Saints most recently dropped both ends of a conference road weekend at Rider and Saint Peter's.
Nicole Deobler paces the Siena attack with 2.51 kills per set, while Dakota Jackson and Abby Huffman add 1.76 and 1.73 finishers per frame, respectively. The attack has been run through Jessica Eblin, who has recorded 7.47 assists per set. On the defensive end, Jojo Ishida leads the Saints with 3.21 digs per set, and Brooke Rogers has been a part of a team-best 25 blocks.
Fairfield is 39-18 all-time against Siena and owns an eight-match winning streak over the Saints. The Stags are 18-8 against Siena in Loudonville.
Up next, Fairfield makes the longest road trip of the MAAC slate with a weekend trek to Canisius and Niagara on Oct. 6-7. First serve for both matches in slated for 1 p.m. The Stags will also visit Iona (Oct. 12) and Manhattan (Oct. 14) before returning to George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall on host Rider and Saint Peter's on Oct. 20-21.
