There have only been two times in the history of Fairfield volleyball when a player has reached 4,000 assists and 1,000 digs in their careers. The first time came when most members of the class of 2014 were in second grade; the other occurred last weekend.
In the second set of their contest against conference opponent Canisius, Rachel Romansky ’14 accomplished both, joining Liz Bower ’99 as the only two players to have 4,000 assists and 1,000 digs in their four years as Stags.
Despite the rare feat, Romansky downplayed the celebration of the event, focusing instead on the team’s performance and thanking others over recognizing her own accolades.
“I don’t know, I didn’t even think about that stuff when I came here. I just came here to play,” said Romansky. “I know I wouldn’t be here without my parents or my coaches.”
Before this season started, Romansky had appeared in every single match that Fairfield had played in her three years, missing only one single set in that time. That consistency and skill allowed her to climb up the record books, but this achievement was perhaps delayed a few games due to an injury earlier this season that kept her off the court, something that Romansky had not dealt with as a collegiate athlete before.
Since she has healed from the injury, Romansky has returned to the form that Head Coach Alija Pittenger has seen thrive over her time at Fairfield.
“It’s awesome. We’ve been working with Rachel for four years, she’s been on the court all that time,” said Pittenger. “It’s just great for her to make that milestone. She’s worked really hard for it and I’m really happy for her.”
Romansky now sits second all-time in career assists with 4,077, trailing Bower’s 5,213 career mark. She is also twelfth in program history for digs at 1,025, and is set to surpass former teammate Haililani Pokipala ’11 among others to climb into the top 10 in Fairfield history.
Not only has Romansky accomplished a lot in terms of Fairfield history, but her success can be seen on the national stage as well. Among all active Division I players, Romansky’s 4,077 assists is twelfth in the nation. Those totals come in 406 career games, which is fifth fewest among the top twelve players. She is also just one of seven active players to reach the 4,000 assists/1,000 digs mark.
When asked which record Romansky was probably more proud of, Pittenger smiled before saying that the assists come first.
“As a team, as the setter, I got to go with the assists, but I think she had to work harder for the digs,” said Pittenger. “Defense is not something that comes naturally to her, and she had to work for it.”
Romansky definitely agreed, saying that the assists may be more rewarding because that is her job on the team, and this is a way to know she is doing her job well.
“The assists, you know, that’s my job and to be second at a college is huge. I think that is a personal goal that was awesome,” said Romansky.
She will be the second player in three years to join the 1,000 dig club, as Kara Reis ’13 accomplished the feat in her junior year of 2012 on her way to setting the school record for digs with 1,947. Romansky said that she received a text from Reis congratulating her on the achievement.
“Digs [aren’t] my specialty, but it was cool and awesome,” said Romansky. “I mean, I get on a banner now, which is cool.
“[Reis] texted me yesterday and told me ‘We’re banner buddies now,’” added Romansky, laughing.
The two-time MAAC Setter of the Year still has at least 10 regular season games left to add on to her impressive mark, as well as any potential MAAC Tournament (and NCAA Tournament) games beyond that. But for now, Romansky is still focused on the team continuing to play as well as it has on their five-game winning streak in order to get the opportunity to play those tournament games.
“If we play the way we did this weekend, we can get more W’s,” said Romansky.
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