Volleyball Closes Regular Season with Fairfield and Quinnipiac

MATCH #29
Fairfield (21-4, 16-0 MAAC) at Canisius (13-15, 10-6 MAAC)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 16
Time: 1 p.m.
Live Video: Golden Griffin Broadcast Network

MATCH #30
Quinnipiac (8-8, 12-13 MAAC) at Canisius
Date: Sunday, Nov. 17
Time: 1 p.m.
Live Video: Golden Griffin Broadcast Network

Live Stats: SIDEARM Stats
Location: Koessler Athletic Center (Buffalo, N.Y.)

The Canisius volleyball team will look to end off the regular season with a pair of wins, squaring off with Fairfield and Quinnipiac on the final weekend before the MAAC Championship. The Golden Griffins will host the undefeated Stags following Senior Day festivities on Saturday, while the Bobcats come to town on Sunday for the 2019 regular-season finale.

Scouting Canisius
• This weekend will mark the final time five Griffs play in the Koessler Athletic Center, as seniors Cassidy Ceriani, Gabrielle Darnaby, Carly Shifflet and Leah Simmons, along with graduating junior Tamia Bowden, will all be honored on Senior Day before Saturday's match.
• The Blue and Gold went 1-2 in a stretch of three matches over four days last week, losing a midweek contest to rival Niagara before splitting two five-set contests with Siena and Marist.
• With 15 kills on Sunday against Marist, Simmons became just the 11th player in Canisius history to surpass the 1,000-kill milestone, the first since Katlyn Tyler in 2016. The senior also enters the weekend with the seventh-most block assists in program history at 234.
• Ceriani sits 105 assists away from matching Janelle Davis for second all-time at 3,708 career assists. The setter will also tie Christina Wildes for 11th in program history with her next service ace, having 111 aces in her career entering Saturday.
• Freshman libero Bree Long needs 21 more digs to become just the second rookie after Allyson Severyn in 2009 to reach the 500-dig plateau in a season.
• Sophomore Hannah Nelson leads the MAAC with 49 total service aces, as that number ranks third in Canisius single-season history, and is just six away from matching Somer Sharpstone's program-record 55 aces during the 1997 campaign.
• With 1.20 blocks per set, sophomore Camila Vazquez paces the league in that category and has a .376 hitting percentage that ranks second among the MAAC leaders.

Scouting the Opponents
• Fairfield comes into Saturday on a 19-match winning streak, including wins in all 16 league contests this season. The last loss for the Stags was Sept. 7, in a sweep by Texas A&M at the Pepperdine Tournament in Malibu, Calif.
• Besides the standings, the Stags also lead the MAAC in hitting percentage (.223), assists (12.74 per set), kills (13.52 per set) and service aces (1.81 per set).
• Individually, Joelle Battles' 3.01 kills per set (256 total kills) ranks fourth in the conference, while Luci Albertson (.355) and Kaylie Butts (.316) both sit in the top-five of the conference in hitting percentage. Butts' 1.02 blocks per set is also tied for second-best in the conference.
• Setter Manuela Nicolini has been a force all over for Fairfield, pacing the MAAC with 11.03 assists per set and having the fifth-most aces per set (0.43) among league leaders.
• Quinnipiac travels to Western New York winners in four of their last five contests, including a sweep of Siena on Wednesday, in which Olga Zampati posted 17 kills.
• The Bobcats have held opponents to a .179 hitting clip, the second-lowest percentage in the conference, and are allowing a league-low 1.22 opponent service aces per set.
• Maggie Baker leads all QU players with 213 kills, while Kaleigh Oates' 200 kills on a .383 hitting percentage gives her the best hitting clip in the MAAC. Oates also tops the team with 70 total blocks. Aryanah Diaz has done a bit of everything for her squad, tallying 554 assists, 263 digs, 149 kills and 30 aces, while libero Alejandra Rodriguez enters this weekend with 4.84 digs per set (third-best in the MAAC) and 450 digs overall.

Series History
• Canisius and Fairfield have previously met on 46 occasions, as the Stags hold a 32-14 advantage all-time.
• In the first meeting this season, the Stags defeated the Griffs in straight sets as Battles and Mayda Garcia each tallied 11 kills, while Vazquez racked up eight kills and four blocks for the Blue and Gold.
• Through 17 all-time meetings, Canisius has a 13-4 record against Quinnipiac, including a 10-4 edge over the Bobcats since they joined the MAAC in 2013.
• The first matchup between the two schools this year saw the Griffs take the first set before dropping the next three, as Zampati notched 12 kills to lead both teams while both Simmons and freshman Ella Loussia registered nine kills for Canisius.

Up Next
The Golden Griffins will head to the 2019 MAAC Championship next weekend in Fairfield, Conn., along with Fairfield, Marist, Niagara, Rider and Quinnipiac. The host Stags have secured the No. 1 seed in the tournament, while the rest of the seeding is to be determined.

Follow the Griffs
For complete coverage of Canisius volleyball, please follow the Griffs on social media at @GriffVolleyball (Instagram) and @GriffVolleyball (Twitter).

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Players Mentioned

#9 Tamia Bowden: MH; 6' 1"; Junior

#3 Cassidy Ceriani: S; 5' 11"; Senior

#7 Gabrielle Darnaby: OH; 6' 0"; Senior

#14 Hannah Nelson: OH; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#5 Carly Shifflet: OH/RS; 5' 8"; Senior

#13 Leah Simmons: MH; 6' 1"; Senior

#8 Camila Vazquez: MH; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#4 Bree Long: L; 5' 5"; Freshman

#2 Ella Loussia: OH; 6' 1"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#9 Tamia Bowden
: 6' 1"; Junior
: MH

#3 Cassidy Ceriani
: 5' 11"; Senior
: S

#7 Gabrielle Darnaby
: 6' 0"; Senior
: OH

#14 Hannah Nelson
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: OH

#5 Carly Shifflet
: 5' 8"; Senior
: OH/RS

#13 Leah Simmons
: 6' 1"; Senior
: MH

#8 Camila Vazquez
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: MH

#4 Bree Long
: 5' 5"; Freshman
: L

#2 Ella Loussia
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: OH