Fairfield University Volleyball vies for the 12th MAAC Championship in program history this weekend in Loudonvile, N.Y. The top-seeded Stags will begin the eight-team tournament with Friday's quarterfinal matchup with host Siena. First serve is slated for 11 a.m. on campus at the Saints' UHY Center. The entirety of the 2021 MAAC Championship will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
2021 MAAC Regular Season Champions
Fairfield Volleyball secured its conference-record 20th MAAC Regular Season Championship with a 16-2 league mark this fall as a part of the 21-8 overall tally. The Stags clinched the top seed in the league by two games over second-place Rider, who they swept twice during the campaign.
The Stags now have won three straight MAAC Championships, six of the last seven, and eight of the last 10. Head Coach
Todd Kress has been at the helm for nine of Fairfield's MAAC Regular Season Championships (1996, 1997, 1998, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, spring 2021, 2021).
2019 MAAC Champions
Fairfield last won the MAAC Tournament Championship -- its conference-record 11th tournament crown -- on Nov. 24, 2019 with a 3-1 win over Quinnipiac at Alumni Hall. The Stags reached the championship round by erasing an 0-2 deficit to stun fourth-seeded Marist in the semifinals. Fairfield advanced to the NCAA Championship to challenge the #7 Minnesota Golden Gophers, an eventual Final Four team, in Minneapolis.
The Stags were also the top seed in the 2020-21 MAAC Championship this past April, but withdrew from competition prior to the start of the tournament due to Covid-19 protocols.
Four Major Awards, Four All-MAAC Honors
Four major awards highlighted the MAAC honors earned by the Stags on the heels of their Regular Season Championship.
KJ Johnson was tabbed as MAAC Player of the Year,
Manuela Nicolini was named Setter of the Year,
Mikayla Haut claimed Rookie of the Year and Head Coach
Todd Kress was selected by his peers as Coach of the Year.
Johnson and Nicolini were also two of the seven members of the All-MAAC First Team.
Luci Albertson collected the second All-MAAC Second Team nod of her career, and Haut headlined the MAAC All-Rookie Team.
KJ Leads the Way
KJ Johnson is the ninth different Stag to earn MAAC Player of the Year honors. The junior finished the regular season ranked eighth in the nation with a conference-leading 4.88 kills per set. Her .323 hitting percentage from the pins is good for third in the MAAC and is second in Division I among players with more than 900 swings.
Death, Taxes, and Manuela Nicolini
Manuela Nicolini collected a conference-record fourth MAAC Setter of the Year award this fall. She currently leads the MAAC with 11.10 assists per frame – a number that ranks 11th in the nation – while guiding the Fairfield attack to a conference-best .251 team hitting percentage.
Nicolini has earned MAAC Setter of the Year in each of the last four seasons in which she has played (2017, 2019, spring 2021, 2021). She was also the 2019 MAAC Player of the Year and Championship MVP after posting a triple-double in the finals. Her All-MAAC First Team selection in 2021 is also the fourth of her career.
A Strong First Impression
Mikayla Haut is Fairfield's ninth MAAC Rookie of the Year in program history and the first since Megan Theiller '18 in 2014. She leads all MAAC freshmen and ranks 14th overall in the conference with 2.59 kills per set. Haut also led all MAAC rookies (min. 100 attempts) with a .204 hitting percentage. She has posted three double-doubles on the year and has racked up 41 blocks.
The Boss
Todd Kress claimed his eighth MAAC Coach of the Year award to extend his own conference record after guiding Fairfield to the ninth MAAC Regular Season Championship in 12 years under his leadership. The winningest coach in MAAC Volleyball history is 255-111 (.697) overall and 141-27 (.839) in the MAAC in his career with six MAAC Championships (1997, 1998, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019).
Stags in the MAAC Championship
Fairfield qualified for the MAAC Championship for the 26th consecutive season. The Stags have won a conference-best 11 MAAC Championships, claiming five straight from 1997-2001 and winning six in the last nine seasons (2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019).
Head Coach
Todd Kress has been at the helm for a conference-record six MAAC Championships (1997, 1998, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019) between his two tenures leading the Stags.
Fairfield has been the tournament's #1 seed in 17 campaigns including this fall, compiling a 28-6 record with 10 championships as the top-ranked team. Fairfield is 11-8 in 19 appearances in the MAAC Championship Final.
Home Is Wherever We're Together
In the 2021 calendar year, Fairfield picked up home wins on three different courts on campus. In the spring, the Stags won two matches against Rider on March 7 to close Alumni Hall and then swept a pair from Siena in Rafferty Gymnasium (inside Walsh Athletic Center) on March 21.
This fall, the Stags have played their home matches at the on-campus Leslie C. Quick Jr. Recreation Complex (RecPlex), boasting an 11-3 home record and an 8-1 tally against MAAC opposition.
Fairfield's nomadic status is due to the ongoing construction of the new Arena and Convocation Center slated for completion in the fall of 2022.
Including the March wins over Rider, the Stags closed historic Georgia Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall on a 15-match home winning streak.
The Rest of the Bracket
The winner of Friday's Fairfield/Siena match will challenge either fourth-seeded Canisius or fifth-seeded Niagara on Saturday at 4 p.m. for a berth in the MAAC Championship Match. The opposite side of the bracket features second-seeded Rider vs. seventh-seeded Iona and third-seeded Marist vs. sixth-seeded Quinnipiac.
The 2021 MAAC Championship will be decided at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 21.
