Sophomore Alex Lopez and senior Brandi Higa knelt down and pulled with all their might, their faces telling a story of exhaustion.
After about two seconds, the two finally rose to their feet and marched away proudly.
Their effort, though, had nothing to do with their team’s match, which the Stags won handily over Iona in consecutive sets, 3-0, on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Hall.
Fairfield’s volleyball team is renowned for taking down its own equipment after matches, and Lopez and Higa were just fixing the net.
‘We work them hard,’ head coach Alija Pittenger said with a laugh.
Pittenger’s mood was likely a product of the victory, the Stags’ sixth win of the season over yet another MAAC opponent.
‘I’m alright with winning. It definitely feels good,’ Pittenger said, whose team has now won four consecutive games following a 2-9 start to the season.
The win improves the team’s conference record to 4-0 to start the season, and also stretches the Stags’ home record at Alumni Hall to 33-1 since the start of the 2003 season.
‘I think the [team] did really well today,’ Pittenger said. ‘We have been working hard these past few days.’
‘It was a great week of practice and it is really good to see things translate into matches,’ Pittenger added.
Pittenger was especially pleased with the poise of junior and preseason All-MAAC selection Katie Mann, who led the team with 20 kills in 32 total attempts on Sunday afternoon.
Mann was’ strong when it mattered, in the game’s third and final set. She recorded five kills in the set’s 13 final points, including the final play of the match.
After a back-and-forth start to the third set, Mann used her strength to overpower a kill to extend the lead to 19-12, then on the very next play displayed touch and lofted the ball softly over the net to give the Stags a commanding eight point advantage.
‘There is so much Katie can do,’ Pittenger said. ‘She is always a spark plug for this team and works hard. I know I can count on her at anytime. She was great out there.’
The win over Iona comes off the heels of a thrilling, 3-2 win against Marist this past Thursday night.
In that match, the Stags jumped out to a quick lead by taking two consecutive sets, but Marist responded by just edging Fairfield in the next two sets, 25-23 and 26-25.
In the fifth and final set, the Stags opened up a 7-2 lead off of a pair of kills from sophomore Alex Lopez, who recorded a team-high 19 kills and 20 digs, her third double-double of the season.
Lopez was one of five Stags to finish with double digit kills, including first-year starters sophomore Lauren Hughes and freshman Kendal Dirkin.
The Stags would go on to take the final set, 15-8.
As for the rest of the team, Pittenger said that she has seen subtle signs of improvement as soon as the out-of-conference schedule shifted to more important games.
‘I think [the players] are starting to get used to each other. Communication has gotten a little bit better on the court,’ Pittenger said. ‘I think we’ve grown more consistent.’
Pittenger added, ‘We were pretty up and down before, and I think we have got a lot better at evening things out.’
Following a pair of weekend home matches against Niagara and Canisius, the Stags travel to Albany to challenge Siena, last season’s MAAC champions and the only team to defeat Fairfield at Alumni Hall in the past four seasons.
Pittenger, though, asserts that she already sees a tougher conference and is telling her players to focus on far more than just a rematch against Siena.
‘To be honest, the MAAC seems pretty evenly matched. There are a lot of teams winning games,’ Pittenger said. ‘It’s not quite as lopsided as it has been in the past.
In particular, Siena lost its MAAC opener last week to Canisius, a game that seemed to have opened eyes and left an opening atop the conference hierarchy.
‘I think there are a lot of good players in the conference. I think parity is high this year,’ Pittenger said. ‘I think its possible for any team to win any day that we step on the court.’
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