The crowd roared and the Fairfield pep band blared “Eye of the Tiger” as a reeling Loyola team took a timeout.
FUSA President Hutch Williams ’08, always in character, shadow boxed, pounding an imaginary punching bag.
It may have been his impersonation of Rocky, but one could make the case that it was an even better imitation of the women’s volleyball team in their impressive 3-0 win over Loyola (Md.), who were defenseless against a vaunted Stags attack. The team has now won five consecutive conference matches.
Fairfield won the three games by an average margin of 10 points.
Sophomore sensation Katie Mann continued her outstanding season against Loyola, continuing to live up to the hype created last year in her All-Conference rookie campaign.
Mann was rewarded for her collective efforts against Loyola and Rider as she was named the MAAC Offensive Player of the Week.
On Saturday, Mann led the way against Loyola with 18 kills, nailing on an impressive 72 percent of her opportunities.
An even more impressive stat: She was errorless in 25 chances on the day.
“We’ve been working so hard in practice lately,” said Mann. “Every day, we focus on something different, and we are just trying to improve on every match that we play.”
Against Rider the night before, Mann was once again the focal point of the Fairfield assault. In addition to six digs on the defensive side of the floor, she converted on 13 kills and a 45 attack percentage.
Despite the team’s fantastic play of late, Head Coach Jeff Werneke maintains that the best is yet to come.
“It’s what we expect,” said Werneke. “I think last year we set the tone – going 3-0 in 16 of 18 conference matches. It’s something our kids strive for.”
Following the win over Loyola, Fairfield climbed back to an even 9-9 on the season. It also marked the team’s fifth consecutive MAAC win. It currently sits atop the MAAC standings with a 6-1 in-conference record.
“We’re making strides,” said Werneke. “It’s nice to see us maintain some of the things we’ve worked on in practice. We’re having fun, and we’re winning.
“We’ve still got a long way to go, but we are beginning to take those steps.”
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