The women’s volleyball team toppled Iona 3-0 (30-20, 30-22, 32-30) in New Rochelle, N.Y. last Friday, earning the regular-season MAAC crown in the process. The third and ultimately decisive game of the match was most exciting, as the two teams battled back and forth. Iona fought their way back from 17-11 to 20-20, and eventually built a 24-21 lead. The Stags battled back to tie the match at 30-30, and then won the next two points for the match and title.
Casey Machon ’06, Alex Fox ’06 and Lindsay Lee ’08 combined to form an offensive juggernaut of 36 kills in the match. The Stags posted a .400 hitting percentage in the first game, and Lee and Machon had 12 kills between them in that game alone.
Lee, who earned Rookie of the Year honors in the MAAC last year, also added 13 digs in the match. Brandi Higa ’09 and Ashley Hanohano ’08 led the team in assists for the match as they with 23 apiece. The Stags finished the season at 8-1 in conference play, with a 17-12 record overall. This is the second straight year in which the team has earned at least a share of the conference title.
Iona was led by last week’s MAAC offensive player of the week, Miki Hogg. Hogg led the Gaels with 13 kills, and her teammate Morgan Young helped out with the same effort of 13 kills. Beth Holly also contributed with 39 assists. Iona finishes the season at 6-3 in the MAAC, with a 11-19 mark overall.
It has been a roller coaster of a regular season for the Stags, as until now they have had a hard time stringing wins together. However now they are gathering some strong momentum as they look ahead to the MAAC tournament. Iona was the Stag’s sixth straight victory, and the eighth win in the last nine matches. The MAAC tournament will be held this weekend, and as expected, Fairfield is the top seed. They face off against the fourth seeded Niagara on Saturday, Nov. 19 at noon. The second match, which features the second seeded Siena against third seed Iona will take place immediately following the Stags’ match. The winners of those two matches will face each other on the following Sunday at noon.
In Fairfield’s only match at Niagara this year, the Stags won 3-0 (31-29, 30-26, 31-29). Fairfield also won its match against Siena with relative ease this year 3-0 (30-18, 30-21, 30-7), giving them a 3-0 victory against all three other teams in the tournament. Fairfield has high hopes for this year’s tournament, looking to end the four-year MAAC Tournament Championship drought. Not since 2001 have the Stags won the MAAC Tournament, and not since 2000 have they won both the regular season title as well as the MAAC tournament.
Historically, women’s volleyball is one of Fairfield’s most successful sports. Since the 1997 season, the team has won at least a share of the regular season title seven times, including this year’s campaign. They have won the MAAC tournament five times, and hope to add a sixth this year.
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