There have been a lot of incredible and historic sports seasons at Fairfield University over the years. This second installment continues the story of how Fairfield volleyball continues its ascension in Division I. Part I is available here.

by Chris Elsberry

After the '98 season, Todd Kress left to coach first at Northern Illinois, then at Florida State and finally, at Buffalo. Mitch Jacobs took over and in his three seasons (1999-2001) took the Stags to three more NCAA tournaments. Then, the Stags hit a stumbling block. Fairfield went 10 seasons without returning to the NCAA tournament – going 183-131 overall and 122-22 in the MAAC -- until the 2012 and 2013 teams broke that spell, getting back to the Big Dance.
 
"I always followed the program. I never would have left if I could have started a family and afforded it financially, but I just couldn't at that point," Kress said. "I followed the kids that I recruited, checking on the success they were having. The other coaches did a great job with the program, they just couldn't get to the (NCAA) tournament."
 
Since his return in 2014, Kress had led Fairfield to four MAAC regular season titles, four MAAC tournament crowns and four trips to the NCAA tournament -- an amazing feat when you consider that in 2015, Kress' second year back with the Stags, his team consisted of nine freshmen, three sophomores, two juniors and one senior.
 
"When I got there, I think we were the youngest team in the country," said Skyler Day, who played from 2015 to 2017 and ranks fifth in kills (1,305), third in kills per set (3.88) and fifth in attack attempts (3,560). "We were all freshmen and sophomores, so no one had high expectations for us. And we built on that and as we started to win, we continued to build on it. Having that underdog mindset from the get-go really helped us … along with proving everyone wrong, of course."
 
One of Kress' special talents was locking onto players that may not have been the tallest or the most athletic or the most skilled, but no one would ever question their heart.
 
"That was probably one of Todd's hallmarks as a coach was that he really knows how to build a team," Bower said. "He builds that chemistry and he builds that friendship on and off the court. Every girl wanted to work together and we knew that no one was going to let the other down. That chemistry really transcended onto the court."
 
"He was probably the best coach I've had from a technical standpoint, he broke down everything. He helped me improve dramatically from a technical standpoint," said Megan Theiller, who played at Fairfield from 2014-17 and ranks sixth in total kills (1,288), fifth in kills per set (3.25), fourth in attack attempts (3,635), 12th in digs (1,213) and ninth in digs per set (3.06). "He was great at being positive during games when the momentum might be swinging the other way, helping us reset."
 
Said Kress, "Over the years, I've had teams that were super-talented and didn't do as well as they could because the dynamic wasn't quite there and I've had teams that were just average talented that accomplished great things because the dynamic was there. And that's number one, you have to have the team dynamic, you have to have your culture set, you have to have 100 percent buy-in and you have to have talent and character."
 
According to the Webster dictionary, in sports a dynasty is "a team or individual that dominates their sport or league for an extended period of time" or has "a long run of successful seasons." From 1996 through 2019 – 24 seasons – Fairfield has been in the MAAC tournament championship match a total of 18 times.
That's a .750 success rate. It sure sounds like a dynasty.
 
"I think you can call it a dynasty. When you see where we started and where we're continuing to go, it's powerful," Bower said. "It's a dynasty because the girls continue to put in the hard work and shoot for excellence. I want to see this keep going. There would be nothing greater than to have all our current records shattered and to continue the growth."
 
"Fairfield? Today, we have a target on our backs. When you're that successful year after year, people are out to get you," Theiller said. "I always like being the underdog but it's always great to have people come at you and give you their best. I loved the hard games because it made us stay on top of our game. I would definitely consider Fairfield a dynasty. It's something to be proud of."
 
Said Saunders, "Oh man … sure? Think about it, with those numbers, it's out there in that (dynasty) region. I'm glad Todd is back. Hopefully he can keep taking it up, taking it higher. It's clear they still have their eyes on the prize."
 
And on the future.
 
"A lot of people like to look back on the history of Fairfield and say that we've done all these great things … and that's great but the mindset at Fairfield is all about moving forward," Day said. "The things that we've done in the past are amazing but it's not anything if you're not working toward next year. You can consider it a dynasty but honestly, we don't talk too much about the past. We want to talk about the future."
 
And, according to Kress, the future at Fairfield is continuing to sell the dream. The dream of success. The dream of championships.
 
"You have to sell a dream to the higher level student athlete that you're not only going compete in the NCAA tournament but they are the type of student athlete that will help you win that match," Kress said. "That's the dream you have to sell and every day, we're working on those types of student athletes, the next level student athlete that will take us to the next level. We talk about it all the time, taking the next step. How do we do it? Well, we're working on it."