Most teams with two sophomore captains are not favored to win league championships.
But most sophomores are not Lindsey Lee and Jazmin Pa’akaula, and because of that, the Stags’ women’s volleyball team was picked first in the MAAC pre-season coaches’ poll.
“We are expected to win the conference regular season and tournament championships,” said coach Jeff Werneke.
“With those expectations comes pressure, [and] how well we respond to that pressure will decide whether or not we become true champions.”
Fairfield received five out of ten first place votes in the poll, and Pa’akaula and Lee were named to the pre-season All-MAAC team.
The Stags are coming off a 22-12 season, during which they went 8-1 in the MAAC en route to the regular season league championship, before falling in the conference tournament semi-finals.
The Stags have not been to the NCAA tournament since 2001, the last year in a run of five straight apparences in the Big Dance, the most of any Fairfield sport.
The team has already played in three tournaments, in Maine, Florida, and Alabama. At week’s end they owned a 5-4 record against a group of tournament-worthy opponents.
In the first tournament of the year, held in Maine, the Stags beat Rhode Island 3-0, but lost close ones to Montana (3-1) and Maine (3-2).
Pa’akaula, Lee, and Lauren Campbell ’08 all had double digit kills to help the Stags get their first victory of the year against Rhode Island. Ashley Hanohano ’08 and Brandi Higa ’09 had 21 and 18 assists, respectively.
Higa was named MAAC Rookie of the Week and Lauren Laramore ’06 was named MAAC Defensive Player of the Week for their performances in the Sun Sea Tournament.
Fairfield lost the backend of the doubleheader to Montana and then again the following day to Maine.
The Stags held a 2-1 adavantage on Maine before the Black Bears came back to win the final two games.
Fairfield had shutout victories in both of its wins at the Double Tree Classic at Florida Atlantic University..
The Stags won two out of three matches in Florida, defeating Furman (3-0) and Bethune-Cookman (3-0).
The Stags fell to Florida Atlantic, 3-1, dropping three straight games after winning the opener. Fairfield won the first game, but the undefeated hosts wouldn’t quit.
Bethune-Cookman had a very hard time defending Fairfield’s offense. Natalie Barba ’07 and Kelly Oliver ’08 earned spots on the All-Tournament team.
The Stags then traveled to the Samford Invitational in Alabama and took two of three, defeating Samford (3-1) and Western Carolina (3-0).
Oliver was the key player in the Samford match, getting 13 kills and 22 digs. Four other players also had double digit kills: Barba, Pa’akaula, Casey Machon ’06, and Elizabeth Strawn ’09.
Fairfield lost the second game of the doubleheader 3-2 against Birmingham-Southern.
The Stags held a 2-0 advantage, but could not seal the deal. Birmingham-Southern won the final three games in comeback fashion.
The last game of the tournament was an easy victory against Western Carolina.
Machon earned MAAC Offensive Player of the Week for her efforts in the Samford Invitational.
For a program that has known such great success, Werneke said, every player on the team is capable of stepping up with a star-worthy performance.
“We have a whole team full of captains,” he said.
Leave a Reply