MAAC Notes

Fairfield heads to the 2009 MAAC Championship as the top seed this weekend in Buffalo, N.Y. The Stags will face off with fourth-seeded Marist College in the semifinals at 1pm on November 22. Second-seeded Niagara and third-seeded Siena square off in the second semifinal.

Fans can follow the action for all three games via Live Stats as well as the two semifinals on the Live Webcast and Lockport Cable TV by visiting MAAC Championship Central. The MAAC Championship final will be aired live on ESPNU for the third consecutive year.

The Stags, winners of 17 of its last 19, will be making its 14th consecutive MAAC Championship appearance as they face Marist for the second time in a week.

Fairfield (19-11; 16-2 MAAC) vs. Marist (17-12; 11-7): Marist made a stop at Alumni Hall on Nov. 14 where it suffered a 3-1 loss to Fairfield. The win marked the tenth-straight for the Stags who improved to 24-3 all-time against the Red Foxes. The last Marist win against Fairfield came on Oct. 8, 2003. The Stags are averaging 14.50 kills on .235 hitting and 16.00 digs against Marist this year as compared to the Red Foxes' 11.75 kills, .185 attack percentage, and 13.75 digs per set. Freshman Brianna Dixion is posting 3.88 kills and 2.62 digs per set against the Red Foxes this season while Lauren Balmert is averaging 11.38 assists. Senior Katie Mann is a career .490 hitter against Marist and is averaging 4.00 kills and 1.00 blocks per set with 16 aces.

Fairfield & The MAAC Championship:  Fairfield had a string of five MAAC Championships between 1997-2001. Since then, the Stags have gone 21-11 in MAAC Championship action. Seven of those losses have come in the championship final, including occurrences in each of the past five years. In 2008, Fairfield fell to top-seeded Siena, 3-0, in the final match of the tournament for the fourth year in a row.

Fairfield & The MAAC Regular Season Championship: In each of the last six seasons, Fairfield has captured at least a share of the MAAC Regular Season crown, bringing its total to 11. The championships occurred from 1996-2000 and 2004 to the present.