FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University Volleyball welcomes Siena to the RecPlex on Wednesday evening in a matchup of the top two teams in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference standings. First serve between the first-place Stags and second-place Saints is slated for 7 p.m.
Fairfield has won four straight matches since dropping its lone MAAC decision of the fall on Oct. 12. Most recently, the Stags hosted and defeated Niagara and Canisius – rallying from a 6-1 deficit in the fifth set to topple the Griffs – to improve to 17-6 overall and 11-1 in the MAAC.
For her performance in that sweep of the MAAC's Western New York contingent,
KJ Johnson was voted as the MAAC Player of the Week. Johnson averaged 4.11 kills per set on .329 hitting in the Stags' victories over Niagara and Canisius.
In addition to 4.11 kills per frame, Johnson was strong defensively with 2.67 digs per set and had a hand in eight blocks in her nine sets of action. She posted 19 kills on .381 hitting with 14 digs in Saturday's four-set win over Niagara. On Sunday, she ran off five fifth-set kills to cap an 18-kill, 10-dig outing in the thrilling victory over Canisius.
On the season, Johnson ranks third in the MAAC in kills per set at 3.62 and points per set at 4.27. She also ranks seventh in the conference with a .273 hitting percentage while no other member of the top 10 has taken even half as many as her 770 swings. In the nation, only five student-athletes with 770 or more attempts own a higher attack percentage than Johnson's .273 clip.
Siena is currently the hottest team in the MAAC, reeling off eight straight conference wins since losing to the Stags on Sept. 25 to improve to 11-11 overall and 9-3 in the MAAC.
Sara Wagner and Emily Wunder have led the Saints on the attack with 3.05 and 3.02 kills per set, respectively. Middle hitter Ece Emrullah adds 1.87 kills per set at a .291 clip and ranks among the MAAC leaders in blocks with 73 stuffs in 75 sets of work.
A win on Wednesday would put the Stags on top of the MAAC standings by three matches in the loss column. With a loss, Fairfield would maintain first place but would sit only one match ahead of the Saints with five contests remaining for each squad.
Fairfield has a one-match weekend on tap as the Stags make the short trip to Hamden to challenge Quinnipiac on Saturday, Oct. 29 at noon. Fairfield will then visit Iona and Manhattan on Nov. 5-6 before wrapping up the regular season at the RecPlex against Rider and Saint Peter's on Nov. 12-13.
