EDISON, N.J. – Mamie Krubally earned Metro Conference Preseason Player of the Year honors and Fairfield University Volleyball was selected as the preseason favorite in the conference's Preseason Coaches' Poll, released by the league office on Thursday morning. Krubally was joined by
Emma Bortolotti on the Preseason All-Metro Team.
Krubally earns Metro Player of the Year laurels on the heels of a second consecutive All-MAAC First Team distinction. The senior right side led the Stags are ranked ninth in the conference last fall with 2.91 kills per set. She was also sixth among the league's pin hitters with a .303 hitting percentage and posted 78 blocks to round out her team-leading 357 points. Krubally was also named to the MAAC All-Championship Team for the second straight year, helping lead the Stags to a third consecutive conference title.
Krubally is Fairfield's first Preseason Player of the Year since KJ Johnson in 2022 and the 10th Stag to receive the honor in program history.
Emma Bortolotti starts her sophomore campaign as a Preseason All-Metro honoree after landing on the All-MAAC Rookie Team in 2025. She hit .295 from the right side on her way to 2.30 kills per set, adding 69 blocks to run her total to 271 points.
The three-time reigning conference champions, Fairfield tops the Metro Conference Preseason Poll with 10 of 12 first-place votes. The Stags went 25-6 overall and 17-1 in MAAC play to secure their seventh consecutive regular season crown.
Quinnipiac and Rider split the two remaining first-place votes to rank second and third, respectively. Canisius, Niagara, and Siena complete the top half of the poll. Sacred Heart, Marist, Iona, Merrimack, Saint Peter's, and Manhattan comprise the bottom of the ledger.
Fairfield University Volleyball begins its fourth season under the direction of Head Coach
Nancy Somera on Aug. 28-29 with three matches at the University of Tennessee. The home slate begins on the weekend of Sept. 17-19 with the Fairfield Invitational, and conference action starts the following weekend with the Metro's "Buffalo trip" at Niagara and Canisius on Sept. 25-26.
