Fairfield Picked as MAAC Volleyball Preseason Favorite; Iona’s Archibald & Fairfield's Nicolini Named Preseason Co-Player of the Year
EDISON, NJ – Fairfield University was the coaches’ choice as the MAAC Volleyball preseason favorite. The Stags have won three straight MAAC Championships and sport the Preseason Co-Player of the Year, Manuela Nicolini. Iona College’s Claire Archibald shares the honor in the preseason with Nicolini.
Fairfield is the three-time defending Regular Season Champion and has gone 18-0 in each of the last two seasons. The Stags collected nine first-place votes and 97 points to claim the top spot in the poll.
Iona got the remaining first-place vote and is second in the poll with 84 points. The Gaels fell to the Stags in last season’s championship match. Marist College (77 points) rounds out the top three. The Red Foxes were eliminated by the Stags in the semifinals last season.
Quinnipiac University (65 points) and Niagara University (56) were picked fourth and fifth. Quinnipiac finished sixth in the regular season in 2017 while Niagara finished second behind Fairfield.
Rider University (51), Siena College (43), and Canisius College (39) make up spots sixth, seventh and eight respectively. Rider finished fifth in the regular season last year. Manhattan (24) and Saint Peter’s (14) round out the 10-team poll.
Nicolini was named the 2017 Setter of the Year and was a First-Team All-MAAC selection a season ago. The native of Italy led the MAAC in assists per set (10.46), and total assists (1,171) in 2017. Archibald was also part of the First-Team All-MAAC in 2017. The outside hitter was second in the MAAC in kills per set (3.67) and led the league in services aces with 132 on the year.
Two other Stags join Nicolini on the Preseason All-MAAC Team—Luci Albertson at middle hitter and Taylor Rudeen at libero. Albertson—an All-Rookie Team member—was sixth in hitting percentage and Rudeen was third in digs per set.
Nikki DeSerpa from Marist and Hailey Riede of Rider are other two outside hitters besides Archibald. DeSerpa and Riede were first-team all-league selections a season ago. DeSerpa was top three in the MAAC in hitting percentage and points. Riede was top five in hitting percentage, kills, and points.
Joining Albertson in the middle are Sara Wesley from Canisius and Grace Hetterscheidt of Niagara. Wesley was a Second Team All-MAAC selection last season for the Golden Griffins and led the league in hitting percentage at .309. Hetterscheidt was an All-Rookie Team performer in 2017 for the Purple Eagles.
| Coaches’ Poll (first-place votes) |
| Fairfield (9) |
97 |
| Iona (1) |
84 |
| Marist |
77 |
| Quinnipiac |
65 |
| Niagara |
56 |
| Rider |
51 |
| Siena |
43 |
| Canisius |
39 |
| Manhattan |
24 |
| Saint Peter’s |
14 |
| 2018 Preseason All-MAAC Team |
| Player |
Position |
Institution |
| Claire Archibald |
Outside Hitter |
Iona |
| Nikki DeSerpa |
Outside Hitter |
Marist |
| Hailey Riede |
Outside Hitter |
Rider |
| Sara Wesley |
Middle Hitter |
Canisius |
| Luci Albertson |
Middle Hitter |
Fairfield |
| Grace Hetterscheidt |
Middle Hitter |
Niagara |
| Manuela Nicolini |
Setter |
Fairfield |
| Taylor Rudeen |
Libero |
Fairfield |
| 2018 Preseason Co-Player of the Year |
| Manuela Nicolini |
Setter |
Fairfield |
| Claire Archibald |
Outside Hitter |
Iona |
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 38th year of competition during the 2018-19 academic year. Current Conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter's University, and Siena College.