On the surface, a three-loss effort at the Yale Invitational, a 3-1 setback to Georgetown, and a 2-6 start to the season is more than enough to frustrate any team.
But if second-year head coach Alija Pittenger and the volleyball team have learned anything from last year, it’s that the conclusion of the season is far more important than the outset.
Thanks in part to a consistently daunting out-of-conference schedule, the Stags are no strangers to sluggish starts at the start to the season.
A year ago, Pittenger’s first as a head coach, the Stags lost seven consecutive invitational tournament games and limped toward the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) portion of the schedule.
Fairfield’s early-season growing pains have followed a similar script this year. After a season-opening victory over Eastern Michigan and a stirring win against crosstown rival Sacred Heart, the Stags dropped three games in New Haven, including a loss to in-state rival Yale.
Beneath the surface, though, the out-of-conference slate may be Fairfield’s voluntary baptism by fire.
Once again, the Stags scheduled several of the country’s strongest programs this fall, including Army, last year’s regular-season Patriot League champions, and Yale, the 2008 Ivy League champions. This weekend’s Michigan/Pepsi Challenge in Ann Arbor, Mich., is no exception to the schedule trend. In addition to Michigan, Pittenger’s alma mater and a national powerhouse that has reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for two consecutive seasons, Fairfield plays Virginia Commonwealth, Missouri and Morehead State. The Stags also play Fordham at Alumni Hall, their first home game of the year, prior to the start of the team’s conference schedule.
Nonetheless, difficult Septembers, in each of the past five seasons, eventually led to appearances in the MAAC Championship game. And with a veteran-laden team that returns All-MAAC senior middle blocker Katie Mann and juniors Alex Lopez and Lauren Hughes, the Stags seem poised to contend for the conference title yet again.
“Even though we’re still fairly young, we have a lot of players that have spent a lot of time on the court,” Pittenger said in a press release. “We’ve got the talent and the players. If we take care of business, we should reach our goals.”
And while the team’s ultimate goal still lies ahead, Pittenger asserted that, regardless of the early losses, the team is already laying the groundwork for a postseason run.
“Now they understand what we are looking for and it will be a lot easier for everyone to build upon our achievements,” Pittenger added.
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