For five consecutive seasons, volleyball celebrated in November and clinched a Metro Atlantic Athletic Championship (MAAC) crown. Sunday’s convincing 3-1 victory over St. Peter’s this weekend ensured this year is no different for head coach Alija Pittenger and the Stags.
What happens from this point forward, however, will determine whether this season will differ and erase the ghosts of seasons past.
Nonetheless, with the postseason is within reach and the team’s momentum – the Stags have won 12 of the games – seemingly at its peak, Pittenger maintains that the team’s focus is solely on the rest of the regular season.
“This schedule we have is tough,” Pittenger said. “We have Marist and Iona coming here (this weekend). Those are good teams. They battled it out (two weekends) ago.”
“We really don’t have too much room to breathe or to take it easy for that matter,” she added.
It is likely a bit easier to breathe with a regular-season title in hand, but it’s clear that the team value sustaining its recent success for an added boost into the postseason.
In addition, the Stags would love to wrap up the season with two more wins, especially in Sunday’s match at Alumni Hall against Iona. That contest marks the season’s Senior Day and an opportunity for the Stags to honor and celebrate their captain, middle blocker Katie Mann.
Mann, who leads the conference in hitting percentage and ranks third overall in kills, was very much the driving force behind the team’s success this past weekend. First, in a frenzied 3-2 win over Loyola, Mann tallied a team-high 20 kills. That total advanced her even further in the Fairfield record books, as she now boasts over 1400 total kills for her career.
A day later, Mann enjoyed another encore performance in Jersey City against St. Peter’s. In the season-clinching game, Mann tallied yet another 20 kill effort, her fourth of the season, in the team’s victory over the Peahens.
Regardless of the team’s strong finish to the regular-season, Pittenger guarantees that the team will not rest on its laurels with the postseason tournament, which begin on November 22 at Canisius in Buffalo, is inching closer and closer.
“Every team, in this league… anything can happen in the MAAC,” Pittenger said. “There are plenty of great teams and you’ve got to come ready to play. You’ve got to be prepared.”
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