Volleyball Finally beats Marist

The Fairfield University volleyball team went 1-1 over the weekend dropping a 3-1 decision to the Iona Gaels on the road Sunday. But the day before, the team gave it's home crowd something to cheer about enjoying their most lopsided win of the season sweeping the Marist Red Foxes 3-0 at Alumni Hall on Saturday afternoon. The team laughed and smiled during the closing stages of the match leaping in delight after their fifth straight conference win. The cheerful atmosphere around the team was the exact opposite sensation the players experienced the last time they battled Marist.

It was right after last year's MAAC Semifinals and their stunning loss to the Red Foxes. The Stags entered the tournament as the number one seed for the sixth consecutive year. They found themselves against the fourth seeded Marist Red Foxes, a team that Fairfield was 24-3 against in their program history and had not lost to in 6 years. It was supposed to be a magical special season. The rise of Brianna Dixion, who became the MAAC Rookie of the Year. The story of senior Katie Mann, one of the best players in program history, in her quest to win her first MAAC Championship. The chemistry and excitement that the team brought to every game. All of that thrilling promise ended on the last point of the fifth set when Brianna Dixion's spike went off the legs of the referee. "It was sad. We shouldn't have lost to a team like that," now senior Lauren Hughes said. "After a loss like that you're definitely crushed anytime," coach Alija Pittenger said. The head coach, who is now in her third year, was given the difficult task to move the program forward and not to dwell on the past.

Out with the 2009 Fairfield Stags Volleyball Team. In with 2010 FUVB. This is a new team with an old goal, "to win the MAAC Championship," Lauren Hughes said. They are determined to leave the past in the rear view mirror and be driven by the motivation to win. Despite playing the same team that knocked them out of the tournament and killed their chances at a MAAC title, this team did not see that as anymore incentive to get some revenge. "It's funny. We actually asked them if playing Marist had anything to do with it. They said no, not really. So I think they've just been working hard and they had a fun time today," Pittenger said after the win.

It would be hard for any team coming into a year trying to forget about the heartbreaking end of the prior season and the loss of the key player and the undeniable leader of the group. But if they want to accomplish what they are set out to do, Fairfield would have to do just that. In order to do that, they would have to find a new leader. Someone who can lead by example on and off the court. They might have found that in senior Lauren Hughes. The California native ranks third on the team in kills and has amassed 790 in her four year career. She finished the Marist win with six kills. Sophomore Brianna Dixion led the team with 10 on a career high .600 hitting percentage. Being one of the few seniors on the squad, Hughes will have to help the team learn from her experiences. Hughes has great expectations for the team and the confidence that they can succeed, "I think we're coming together and playing how we should be playing and we're just going to beat every team out there."

Gettin Lite is back on

WVOF has announced that Gettin Lite is back on the air for it's third season. It will actually be filmed and broadcasted for the Ham Channel and Youtube. Past guests include:

Derek Needham
Yorel Hawkins
Stephanie Geehan
Desiree Pina
Brianna Dixion

The show will be on the air Tuesdays at 8PM and on youtube whenever the show is finished editing.

Colgate 3 Fairfield 1

The Fairfield Stags (0-3) were defeated by the Colgate Raiders (2-0) yesterday in the Colgate Classic. The loss finishes a hard sweep aganist the Stags. Check out the Stags website for a complete recap and boxscore.

The Least You Should Know

-Fairfield still has never beaten Colgate as they are now 0-5 in program history aganist the Patriot League school.

-Alex Lopez still does not have a kill this year.

-Romansky had 4 kills, 26 assists, and 2 block assists to offset 2 errors.

- Brianna Dixion was the only Stag to reach double digits in kills with 10. She has reached at least that figure in every game so far.

- The Stags made 26 errors and now have 82 on the year.

This not the way that the Stags wanted to get their season started. Last year, they went 2-1 in their first three games albiet it was from easier competition. But this always happens for the Stags. They dominate the regular season but cannot seem to win in out of conference games. You wonder, how strong is the MAAC? The Stags finished the year 145th in the nation in RPI ranking and combined with Niagara they were the only two MAAC schools in the top 150. It just might be the strongest weak team beating up on other weak teams in a bad conference.

The Stags are only hitting .145 as a team and only have 2 players hitting over .300.

Stephanie Cruz has more kills than Alex Lopez.

Up Next:

The Stags will play in the Northern Colorado Classic. They will face South Dakota and Georgia on September 3rd.

Syracuse 3 Fairfield 1

The Syracuse Orange (1-0) defeated the Fairfield Stags (0-2) by two sets in the nightcap of the Colgate Classic. The Stags are now 0-2 all time aganist the Big East foe. For the full boxscore click here. For a recap click here.

Much better game for the Stags only committing 24 errors. Pokipala who hit 11 errors in the first game only misfired on 6 shots tonight. While having 14 kills.

Brianna Dixion once again led the team in kills with 15 for the second straight game. She did committ 6 errors, but this is what Fairfield needs from the sophomore.

Rachel Romansky looks like the real deal! She had 39 assists and 4 kills which gives her 10 kills and 66 assists through the first 2 games. Lauren Balmert, the setter it looks like she is replacing, only had 69 kills and 20 errors last year. Romansky only has 1 error!

Here is what I am afraid of. Alex Lopez is yet to have a kill since returning from injury that sidelined her all of last year. Hopefully she can get things going again. The Stags are going to need her.

Fairfield will play tomorrow night at 7 pm aganist the host Colgate.

Rhode Island 3 Fairfield 1

The Fairfield Stags (0-1) were defeated by the Rhode Island Rams (1-0) 3 sets to one in the opening game of the Colgate Classic. For the complete box score click here. The Stags are now 1-3 all-time aganist the Rams and 15-11 in season openers.

The Stags were absolutely dominated in the first set to put it very nicely. They were down as much as 10 when the score was 17-7. Romansky was the only Stag to play well with 2 kills and 3 assists without an error. Fellow freshmen Hayley Moyer had 3 errors in 3 attempts and as a team the Stags had 9 total.

Fairfield lost the fourth set 25-6! committing 9 errors and having about a 15 point losing streak. That is only the second time in 2 years the Stags could not score into the double digits in a set over the past two years. The other came September 5th against #7 Michigan where they only scored 9.

The only set they won came in the third set where they edged the Rams 25-23.

The Stags committed 32 errors in the afternoon game! Compared to Rhode Island's 12. Pokipala led the team with 11 of those errors followed by freshmen Hayley Moyer with 6. The Hawaii native had 129 errors last year the second worst on the team.

There were some good points. Brianna Dixion led the team with 15 kills (the 21st time in her career she finished with 10 or more) but the most important is that she only had 1 error!

Freshmen Rachel Romansky filled up the column today. She had 7 kills 25 assists and 7 digs!

The Stags will next play tonight at 7pm aganist the Syracuse Orange