Hoping to play up to high preseason expectations, the Fairfield women’s volleyball team won two out of three games this past weekend as hosts of the Fairfield Invitational at Alumni Hall.
The tournament began an eight-game stretch of home games for the team and featured the first games of the season.
“It’s always great to play at home,” said Head Coach Jeff Werneke. “We have been getting higher attendance numbers over the past couple years, so it’s a big factor for us. We really enjoy the interaction with our fans and appreciate the energy that they give us,”
After dropping the first decision Friday night against Albany, the Stags came back and won consecutive games versus Columbia and Long Island.
Werneke said he is happy with the performance of a number of players. Last weekend he felt that Lindsey Lee ’08 and Natalie Barba ’07 were the team’s top players.
He also stressed “the most important thing about this year’s team is that we understand that we are more than a one or two-player program and that we have the talent and ability across the board.”
Lee and Barba received selections for the All-Tournament team.
The consecutive wins brought Fairfield back over .500 to 9-8, and 2-1 at home. The Stags are currently in third place in the MAAC after receiving a first-place standing in the league’s preseason poll.
Last season the Stags lost in the MAAC title game after going 22-12 in the regular season and 8-1 in conference play. Lee and Jazmin Pa’akaula ’08 represented Fairfield as selections to the preseason All-MAAC Team.
With MAAC play set to begin Oct. 12 against Marist, Werneke said his players are more than ready to bring back the league title for the first time since 2001, when the Stags won their fifth straight NCAA tournament birth.
“No one puts higher expectations on us than ourselves,” he said. “We just want to play the best we can and the championships will take care of themselves.”
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