FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) volleyball comes to George Bisacca Court for the final time in the 2019 regular season this weekend as Fairfield University Volleyball hosts Rider and Saint Peter's on Nov. 9-10. The first-place Stags will celebrate Senior Day prior to Sunday's matchup with the Peacocks.
 
Fairfield (19-4, 14-0 MAAC) begins the weekend riding a 17-match winning streak. The Stags locked up a share of the MAAC Regular Season Championship with Wednesday's 3-1 victory over Marist and can secure the outright title as well as top seed in the upcoming MAAC Championship with one win in any of their four remaining regular season contests. The 17-match stretch is one of the five longest active streaks in Division I entering Friday's slate of action across the nation.
 
Statistically, the Stags lead the MAAC in team hitting percentage (.220), opponent hitting percentage (.149), kills (13.52/set), assists (12.67/set) and aces (1.77/set) and slot second in the conference in blocks (2.04/set) and digs (16.55/set).
 
Individually, Manuela Nicolini is the MAAC leader and rates 28th nationally with 10.95 assists per set managing the attack. She has guided three Fairfield hitters into the conference's top-10 in hitting percentage: Luci Albertson, Kaylie Butts and Joelle Battles. Battles is also fourth in the MAAC in kills per set at 3.01.
 
Fairfield's 3-1 win over Marist featured 15 service aces, the most for a Stags' team since landing 16 winners in a win over Army during the 2003 campaign. After the effort on Wednesday, Jamie Calandro ranks third in the MAAC with 0.46 aces per set and Nicolini slots fifth with 0.43 aces per set.
 
Stags vs. Rider
Saturday, Nov. 9 @ 1 PM
Stags Sports Network | Live Stats
 
At 13-13 overall and 10-4 in the MAAC, Rider is one of two four-loss teams (alongside Niagara) that can still tie the Stags atop the conference standings. The Broncs have won six straight since losing to the Stags on Oct. 12, most recently sweeping a weekend visit to Lawrenceville from Canisius and Niagara. Rider ranks fifth in the MAAC in offensive efficiency with a .185 team hitting percentage and slots third defensively with opponents hitting .192 against them.
 
The Broncs have been paced by freshman Morgan Romano. Romano has won MAAC Rookie of the Week laurels every week this season – splitting the honor with Battles on Oct. 15. She leads the MAAC with 4.66 kills per set hitting at a .254 clip. Evelyn Shanefield is the Broncs' most efficient hitter at .292, while Anilee Sher running the offense with 10.92 assists per stanza.
 
Defensively, Rachelle Runyon is second in the MAAC with 4.88 digs per set. At the net, Morgan Koch and Shanefield have had a hand in 91 and 84 blocks, respectively, with the Broncs racking up 198 total rejections as a unit.
 
Following a 3-0 sweep for Fairfield in Lawrenceville, the Stags are 33-5 against Rider dating back to 1989. Head Coach Todd Kress is 12-2 on the Stags' sideline opposite the Broncs.
 
Stags vs. Saint Peter's
Sunday, Nov. 10 @ 1 PM
ESPN+ | Live Stats
 
Saint Peter's, which will visit Quinnipiac on Saturday before coming to Alumni Hall, makes the trek to Connecticut with a record of 3-24 overall and 1-14 in the MAAC. The Peacocks rank 10th in the conference both offensively (.126) and defensively (.234).
 
The attack is led by 3.28 kills per set from Alanis Alvarado, with Danielle Lopez adding a team-best .177 hitting percentage en route to 1.32 kills per frame. Wildalys Soto manages the offense to the tune of 7.61 assists per frame. On defense, Karla Seda is the MAAC leader with 5.62 digs per set, and Lopez has played a role in 54 of the Peacocks' 122 total blocks.
 
Fairfield's sweep of the Peacocks last month extended the Stags' winning streak over Saint Peter's to 17 consecutive victories and moved their lead in the series to 47-10 since 1985. Head Coach Todd Kress is 17-1 all-time against Saint Peter's, including wins in both the 1997 and 1998 MAAC Championship Matches.
 
Prior to first serve on Sunday, the Stags will recognize seniors Jamie Calandro, Mayda Garcia, Manuela Nicolini and Sonja Radulovic.