EDISON, N.J. – Fairfield University Volleyball – the three-time defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Champion – has earned the top spot in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, as announced this morning by the conference office. In addition, junior setter Manuela Nicolini was recognized as the MAAC Preseason co-Player of the Year and garnered a Preseason All-MAAC selection alongside teammates Taylor Rudeen and Luci Albertson.
 
The Stags earned the top spot on the preseason ledger with nine of 10 possible first-place votes and 97 total points. Second place went to Iona with 84 points, including the final first-place tally, and Marist grabbed the third spot with 77 points. Rounding out the poll are Quinnipiac (65 points), Niagara (56), Rider (51), Siena (43), Canisius (39), Manhattan (24) and Saint Peter's (14).
 
Fairfield will enter the MAAC portion of its schedule with a streak of 51 consecutive victories over conference opponents – a MAAC record and the longest active stretch in the nation. The Stags, who have posted an 18-0 MAAC regular season record in back-to-back campaigns, are alongside Creighton (Big East), Cleveland State (Horizon) and American (Patriot) as the only four teams in the nation to have won their conference's outright regular season title and tournament title in each of the last three seasons.
 
Manuela Nicolini shares MAAC Preseason co-Player of the Year honors with Iona's Claire Archibald. Nicolini was a First Team All-MAAC honoree and the MAAC Setter of the Year in 2017. Her sophomore campaign ranks 10th all-time in Fairfield history with 1,171 assists and ninth with a MAAC-leading 10.46 assists per set. Nicolini also dumped over 72 kills on .358 hitting from the setter position and contributed to the defensive effort with 2.38 digs per frame and a team-high 88 total blocks. Nicolini averaged 13.67 assists per set with 12 blocks, seven digs and three kills in six sets of work to earn All-Championship honors at the 2017 MAAC Championship.
 
Nicolini is Fairfield's third consecutive MAAC Preseason Player of the Year following Skyler Day '18, who won the award in 2016 and 2017 and went on to win Player of the Year honors in both campaigns. She is the seventh Stag to earn the preseason distinction since 1999.
 
Also collecting Preseason All-MAAC honors is senior libero Taylor Rudeen. She led the Stags with 504 digs last fall – the eighth 500+ dig campaign in Fairfield history – and her 4.50 digs per set marked the fourth-best single-season mark on the program charts. Rudeen also landed 21 service aces and distributed 111 assists while appearing in all 112 sets in 2017. She will enter her senior season ranked 13th in program history with 1,109 digs. Her career average of 3.47 digs per set is good for fourth all-time at Fairfield.
 
Luci Albertson was a MAAC All-Rookie Team pick in 2017 en route to grabbing a Preseason All-MAAC nod leading into her sophomore campaign. Albertson appeared in the middle in 78 sets over 29 matches last fall, averaging 1.33 kills per set on .287 hitting. She had a hand in 69 blocks, including 10 solo stuffs, and landed 16 service aces. Albertson totaled 15 kills and 10 blocks in six sets of work at the MAAC Championship to claim a place on the MAAC All-Championship Team.
 
The Stags are the first team to garner three Preseason All- MAAC selections since Marist nabbed three spots prior to the 2014 campaign.
 
Fairfield Volleyball opens to the 2018 campaign on Aug. 24-25 at the Tropical Smoothie Invitational at James Madison University. The Stags will start the season against a pair of 2017 NCAA postseason teams in the host Dukes – the reigning CAA Champions – and the SEC's Missouri Tigers. The weekend concludes against Delaware State before action comes to George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall for the first time in 2018 with a visit from Sacred Heart on Wednesday, Aug. 29 at 7 p.m.

First serve on the MAAC portion of the slate is set for Saturday, Sept. 15 at Saint Peter's.