FAIRFIELD, Conn. – For the 13th time in program history, Fairfield University Volleyball is the champion of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The Stags knocked off defending champion Quinnipiac, 3-1, at Leo D. Mahoney Arena on Sunday to reclaim the conference crown. Maya Walker was named the Championship MVP.
 
In addition to their MAAC-leading 13th conference title, the Stags won the MAAC Regular Season Championship for the 22nd time in the last 28 seasons. Head Coach Nancy Somera is the first coach to win the MAAC in their first season at the helm since Kris Zeitler led Iona to the title in 2004.
 
"We started this season as a completely new staff with seven new players and seven returners. Even then, we felt like maybe we had the pieces to have a successful season, but we had to find our way as individuals and as a group," said Somera. "We're not standing here today without all 14 players buying in completely and working their tails off from Day 1."
 
"We knew this year was going to be a journey," said Walker, an All-MAAC Second Team honoree. "With so many new faces and new staff, we knew how much work was ahead of us on the court and also to become a close-knit group. But we were also very excited and we knew we had the potential to be MAAC Champions."
 
Walker hit .429 in the Stags' wins over Rider and Quinnipiac to lock up the MVP nod. She put down 2.63 kills per set and had 11 blocks in eight frames of work. She was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Mikayla Haut and Kyla Berg.
 
An All-MAAC First Team pin hitter, Haut was Fairfield's leading point scorer on the weekend with 3.63 kills per set at a .253 clip on the outside to go along with an even 1.00 block per frame. Berg led the back row from the libero spot, posting 4.25 digs per set as Fairfield limited the Broncs and Bobcats to a combined .151 hitting percentage.
 
"It's exhilarating. I'm thankful for my team for getting me here, especially for my senior year," said Berg, the only four-year senior on this year's team. "It's been such an exciting year with a new building, new coaches and half of a new team. To be standing here today in Mahoney Arena as the MAAC Champions, I couldn't be prouder of what we have accomplished."
 
Today's final was a rematch of the 2022 MAAC Championship, which Quinnipiac won by a 3-1 score. The Stags and Bobcats also met in the MAAC Championship Match in 2016 and 2019 – both victories for Fairfield at Alumni Hall.
 
"Quinnipiac is a very talented team. They're all very skilled and very smart, so you know they are going to make good decisions and execute them well," said Somera. "The biggest thing we did today was that we had them out of system and had their setter on the run, so even though they were still making the right choices, it wasn't always the best set or the best swing that they are capable of. And as their hitters wore down, our blockers started to pick up their rhythm and got some huge stuff blocks and altered swings that led to points on our end."
 
Haut had 17 kills at a .250 clip on the outside this afternoon. All-Rookie Team right side Mamie Krubally added 11 on .500 hitting, and Walker had 10 while swinging at .348.
 
Supplementing the attack, Svenja Rodenbüsch added nine kills, Allie Elliott had four from the back row, Janna Schlageter put down three and Elle Shult had one. The offense was run at a .255 clip by Blakely Montgomery, who dished out 44 assists and dumped over three kills of her own.
 
Defensively, the Stags rang up 12 blocks for the contest. Walker and Schlageter each had a hand in six rejections, with the trio of Haut, Krubally and Montgomery all playing a part in four stuffs.
 
In the back row, Berg had a match-best 18 digs in addition to a pair of aces. Rodenbüsch added 14, with Elliott and Noelle Carey putting up 10 apiece. The Stags limited the high-powered Bobcats to a .181 hitting percentage.
 
This weekend's MAAC Championship marked the sixth time that Fairfield hosted the tournament and the first inside the new Leo D. Mahoney Arena.
 
"Thank you to our students and all of the fans who came out to support us this weekend," said Somera. "They turned Mahoney Arena into the best volleyball atmosphere in the MAAC, and we look forward to seeing them all when we're back on our home court next season."

The Stags head to the postseason with a 22-6 record and riding a seven-match winning streak. Fairfield closes out its first campaign at Leo D. Mahoney Arena with an 11-2 home record.
 
How It Happened
 
Set 1 | The Stags led for the first half of the opening set, building a 14-10 cushion. At that point, however, Quinnipiac won the next five rallies to surge in front, 15-14. The QU edge held to an 18-16 count, at which point an Elle Shult kill started the Stags on a 6-0 spurt to reclaim the lead, 22-18. The Bobcats answered with a 4-0 run of their own to tie the frame at 22-22.  Fairfield once again had a rebuttal with kills from Krubally and Maya earning a set point opportunity. Quinnipiac fought off a pair of set points to tie it up for the seventh and final time at 24-24, but Montgomery went over on two to swing the advantage back to the Stags, and a QU attack error ended the frame with Fairfield getting the win, 26-24.
 
Set 2 | The momentum continued into the second set as the Stags scored the first three points of the frame and never looked back. QU came back to within a point on three occasions, the latest being at 11-10 before the Stags won seven of the next eight points to open up an 18-11 advantage. Another 7-0 stretch capped off the set, 25-14, to bring the Stags within one frame of the MAAC Championship.
 
Set 3 | With their season on the line, the Bobcats came out firing in Set 3. The Bobcats won the first points and eight of the first nine to take an 8-1 lead. Fairfield never faded away, closing the gap to three as late as 16-13, but the early margin proved insurmountable as Quinnipiac took the frame, 25-16 to push the match to a fourth set.

Set 4 | Fairfield responded in the fourth set, racing out to an 8-2 lead. As had been the theme of the match, the Bobcats fired back and soon knotted the match at 11-11. The Stags next counter-punch staked them to a lead them would not relinquish, running off three straight and five of the last six points to regain a 16-12 advantage. The margin slowly crept toward Championship Point as a block by Walker and Montgomery made it 24-20 in favor of the Stags. The final swing went to Walker, putting down her 10th kill of the afternoon to seal the win and the title for Fairfield.
 
Up Next
 
Fairfield has earned the MAAC's automatic berth in the NCAA Championship for the 13th time. The Stags and the rest of the 64-team field will learn their NCAA postseason destination and opponent on Sunday, Nov. 26 at 6 p.m. when the Selection Show airs live on ESPN. The NCAA Championship First and Second Rounds will be held between Nov. 30 and Dec. 2.