All athletic teams enter the season with the goal of winning every game that they play.

Fairfield’s volleyball team did just that.

The Stags accomplished a goal that few teams can by winning their final game of the MAAC season, to finish with an 18-0 conference record.

The unblemished Stags defeated Loyola 3-0 on Saturday in Maryland and now head into the conference tournament as the No. 1 seed.

Fairfield’s overall record is 21-6 and this is the team’s first undefeated MAAC season since 2000, when the team’s record was 9-0.

However, the team did what no Fairfield team has done before: they beat each team in the MAAC twice.

This was the first season in which the Stags played 18 conference games. They are riding an 18 game winning streak, which is tied with the 1999 team for the third longest in school history.

The Stags’ win over Loyola was the 14th on the streak. The team has lost just four individual games during its series of wins.

“It’s a great accomplishment for the team,” said Head Coach Jeff Werneke. “Our goal was to win every match and be the best team possible, so it is a good feeling to have accomplished that goal.” He added, “Now we need to focus on the MAAC tournament.”

“It’s nice to be undefeated, but a record to us is just numbers, said Jazmin Pa’akaula ’08. “It shows how we played during the regular season, but we won’t be satisfied until we can come back with a championship.”

Fairfield defeated Loyola 30-13, 30-11 and 30-26, with only the final match being close. They record a .380 hitting percentage while holding Loyola to a .074 percentage.

The Stags were led by Lindsey Lee `08 and Barbie Thistle `10 who both recorded double-doubles. It was Lee’s 17th double-double of the year as she recorded a match high 13 kills, as well as 11 digs. Thistle’s double-double was the eighth of her season, with 40 assists and 10 digs.

Four other Stags, Kelly Oliver `08, Katie Mann `10, Pa’akaula and Brandi Higa `09, finished with double-doubles. Oliver had eight kills and 10 digs, Mann had 10 kills with a .529 hitting percentage, Pa’akaula added 10 kills and Higa had 11 digs. Natalie Barba `07 had two block assists, moving her within two of the Fairfield career record of 284.

“We played amazing,” said Lee. “We were clicking on all cylinders, defensively and offensively. We’re right where we want to be at this time in the year.”

“Our game against Loyola went just as we planned,” Pa’akaula said. “We played defense, executed, and played hard. It was a total team effort and everyone was able to contribute to the win.”

Werneke thinks that the Stags are going to carry over the momentum from the win against Loyola into the MAAC tournament.

“We are very pleased with our execution, we played at a very high level and it was one of our most complete matches of the year,” he said. “We have the momentum going into the tournament and are playing at a high level. We just need to continue to play good volleyball, work hard, and make the adjustments we need to make.”

The Stags will travel to the Disney Wide World of Sports complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. for the MAAC tournament, held from Nov. 16 to 19. Fairfield has a first round bye, as the No. 1 seed and will then face the winner of number eight Rider versus number nine Iona.

“We have been working hard everyday and that shows in our record,” said Pa’akaula, “From the beginning we set goals and so far have maintained them, but there is just one more to fulfill. We are focused on the prize and confident in ourselves and our coaches.”

Lee agreed. “We’re on a roll and no one on our team is going to allow any team to get in the way of our success. All we have to do is play our game and no one will be able to touch us.”

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