For the third time in a row, the Fairfield Stags are MAAC Volleyball champions. This marks the 15th MAAC title for Fairfield and the first three-peat in the conference since the Stags previously did it between 2015-2017. While the 86-minute battle against Rider University technically resulted in a sweep, the game was not won in typical sweep fashion, as nail-biting lead changes and swoons of momentum kept the match lively.
Gaining control of nerves and settling down into play was the key for the Stags today, most notably in the first set, where the Stags overcame a 14-20 deficit to win the set 26-24. A critical time-out for the Stags when down 14-19 seemed to shift momentum. A few technical adjustments and reminders from head coach Nancy Somera got the Stags back on track. “You’re not ever necessarily thinking we can’t win this set, it’s more about finding our groove so we can take it into our second set,” Somara shared.
Leading the charge for the Stags was junior right-side Mamie Krubally, sophomore outside hitter Katelyn Cook, senior middle blocker Maya Walker, sophomore defensive specialist Delaney Moon and sophomore middle blocker Harlan Wyche. Krubally led the team with nine kills, matching MAAC Player of the Year Kiannisha Santiago. Walker led the defense with four blocks. Cook delivered a crucial five aces in the second set when the Stags were down 13-17, spurring on an eight-point run to put the Stags up by three. Moon finished things off in the second set with two aces of her own, leaving it 25-18 Stags. Wyche, named the MAAC Championship’s Most Valuable Player, had six kills, two aces and three blocks to round things out.
“I had the match of my life here. It means a lot,” Wyche commented about the MVP honor. After not being selected for any of the all-MAAC teams this season, Wyche committed to elevating her game, “I really strived to do my best in the tournament and get some sort of honor.”
The third set had early indicators of another back-and-forth, but the Stags caught fire while Moon was serving, going on a seven-point run to make it 14-5. The rest of the set consisted of the Broncs attempting to catch up to the Stags to no avail. After breaking up the seven-point run off a service error from Moon, the Broncs got bested by Wyche, and the Stags continued the offensive assault with a five-point run to make it 19-6. Together, the thirteen total service aces matched a season-high for the team.
While the Mahoney Arena was consistently boisterious throughout the entire match, it was at the 20-point mark for the Stags in the last set where the crowd truly began to come to life. Fairfield men’s rowing team was present as proud supporters of their fellow Stags, and Rider had its own fan section consisting of its men’s cross country team. After migrating to the Rider section for the second set, the rowing team found their way back to the Fairfield faithful and started a chant of “Start the busses!” directed at the visiting bench for the final moments of the match. Kills by Cook and Wyche continued to raise the volume of the crowd.
At game point, up 14, the Stags were seemingly seconds away from the title, until an attack error from Walker lost the point and almost fooled the Fairfield bench into running onto the court too soon. After one last point given up, the Stags watched a serve from Santiago fly out of bounds, and the bench was finally able to storm the court.
“Our assistant coach likes to call us wayfinders, because we always find a way,” Wyche shared during the post-game celebrations.
Up next for the Stags is the NCAA postseason. Going 25-5 overall and 17-1 in conference, the Stags will get their opponent and destination on Sunday, November 30, at 6 pm when the tournament bracket is revealed. The Stags are ready for wherever the bracket takes them. “It’s really, really exciting getting to play against new competition that we may not know,” Wyche stated.
