FAIRFIELD, CT – For the third straight year and fifth time in the past six seasons, Fairfield was crowned the MAAC Volleyball Champion behind a 3-0 (14-25, 19-25, 11-25) victory against the Iona College volleyball program this afternoon on the campus of Fairfield at Alumni Hall. The Gaels earned a trip to the MAAC Championship final for the first time since 2010 by upending Quinnipiac and Niagara this weekend.
Jamie Smith posted seven kills, four blocks and three aces in the effort for the Maroon & Gold (16-18) while
Emma Rose tallied 19 assists.
Mia Bonsignore connected on six kills throughout 15 attempts with no errors for a .400 hitting percentage in addition to three blocks.
Tess Connolly led the team with six digs.
Skyler Day recorded the match-high of 14 kills for Fairfield (25-6) to go along with nine digs. Manuela Nicolini notched 37 assists in the sweep while Megan Theiller recorded 13 digs and eight kills.
The Stags finished with a .326 hitting percentage on the afternoon that included a .387 percentage with 15 kills in the opening set. The Stags jumped out to a 9-2 advantage in the first game before Iona rallied to come within 13-9 following a
Shaina Campbell kill. A 6-1 run for the hosts created an eight-point margin that later turned into an 11-point victory at 25-14 following back-to-back kills from Day.
Iona held an early advantage in the second set as a Smith ace gave the Gaels a 6-3 lead. Fairfield quickly turned the score around as Luci Albertson and Nicolini put together three straight blocks to give the Stags an 8-7 lead. With the set tied at 11, Fairfield jumped on a 6-1 run to create space from the Gaels. Despite Iona coming within one point at 19-18, the Stags scored six of the final seven points to go up 2-0 in the match.
A 6-6 tie in the third set turned in favor of the defending champions as they outscored the Maroon & Gold 19-5 to earn the program's 10th championship. Day put the final touches on the match with the kill on the final point from Nicolini.
For their efforts this weekend, Bonsignore and Rose were named to the All-Championship Team.
