MAAC Tournament Preview: QU Volleyball Opens Friday With Niagara

Friday, November 18

Fairfield, CT

5:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Niagara University

MAAC Tournament Preview: QU Volleyball Opens Friday With Niagara

11/16/2016 9:50:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

By: QU Sports Information

Quinnipiac Volleyball (19-12, 11-7 MAAC) at MAAC Tournament
hosted by Fairfield University (George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall)
Opening Round: #3 Quinnipiac vs. #6 Niagara: Friday, 5 p.m.
Semifinals (if QU advances): #3 Quinnipiac vs. #2 Marist: Saturday, 5 p.m.
Championship (if QU advances): Sunday, 2 p.m.

Live Video: ESPN3
Live Stats: FairfieldStags.com

ENTERING NEW TERRITORY
Quinnipiac clinched its first-ever MAAC Tournament berth (other than the 2014 season when the entire league was invited) with a win over Rider in its home finale on Oct. 30, and enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed. Fairfield earned the top seed by going undefeated during the regular season (18-0) while Marist earned the second seed at 12-6. The third-place finish is the best finish that the Bobcats have ever had in their Division I history (since 1998), surpassing the fourth place finish that the Bobcats earned in the Northeast Conference in both 1998 and 1999.

HISTORIC SEASON
The Quinnipiac volleyball team has 19 wins this season (19-12) with a chance at a remarkable 20-win season if it can win its opening round match against Niagara (after winning just three matches last year). The 19 wins already sets a program record for wins in a season as full Division I members, passing the old mark of 10 first set in 2000 and matched in 2002. The Bobcats won 30 matches in their final season in Division II (1997) and had 14 wins in a transition year to Division I in 1998, which it matched with an Oct. 1 win over Canisius. The program had not had more than 10 wins in any campaign since first being full Division I members in 2000. The 19 wins also passes the total that the program had in the last five years (2011-15) combined (16). In addition, the Bobcats finished 11-7 in conference play after winning only four matches in their first three seasons in the MAAC combined (4-50).

SENIORS HONORED
Quinnipiac's home match with Saint Peter's on Oct. 29 served as Senior Day, as the program's seven seniors were honored. The seven Bobcats who played in their final matches at Burt Kahn Gymnasium include Sam Alechko, Jana Kmec, Allison Leigh, Cody Michaels, Emma Ogden, Jamie Paolucci and Katie Urycki. Alechko, Ogden and Urycki have all lost their senior years to injuries.

MILESTONE WATCH
Maria Pansari (assists) and Allison Leigh (blocks) both set new Quinnipiac Division I records for a single season late in the year. Pansari became the first Quinnipiac DI setter to reach 1000 assists and now has 1227, leaving her 87 shy of the overall school record set by Jen McClain in 1997, the program's last at Division II. Senior Cody Michaels needs 15 digs to reach 1000 in her career, which would make her one of only three Bobcats to reach that milestone at the DI level. Sophomore Jen Coffey has 371 kills, needing 29 to become the fourth DI player to reach 400.

MAAC LEADERS
Senior Allison Leigh is currently leading the MAAC in both hitting percentage (.326) and blocks per set (1.4), while freshman setter Maria Pansari leads in assists per set (10.3). As a team, Quinnipiac is first in blocks per set (2.32), and second in hitting percentage (.227). Leigh ranks fourth nationally in total blocks (167) while Pansari ranks fifth nationally in total assists (1,227).

KLOOS, COFFEY HONORED BY QU ATHLETICS
Quinnipiac 's first two Female Athlete of the Month honors for 2016-17 both went to the volleyball program. Junior middle hitter Elizabeth Kloos was named Female Athlete of the Month for September, while sophomore outside hitter Jen Coffey earned the honor for October. Kloos earned the MAAC Player of the Week twice in September, the first time on Sept. 13 after hitting .383 in five matches and the second time coming on Sept. 30 after hitting .500 in three matches. In October, Coffey was by far Quinnipiac's most proficient offensive player, tallying 147 kills in 10 matches, 56 more than her closest teammate. Coffey had a career high 22 kills against Niagara on Oct. 2 and then had 20 in a four-set home win over Siena on Oct. 16, the only two times a Bobcat has reached 20 kills this year.

SERIES RECORDS VS. THE FIELD
Niagara is one of only two schools left in the MAAC that Quinnipiac hasn't beaten, as the Purple Eagles are 9-0 all-time against the Bobcats. If Quinnipiac should advance to face Marist, the Bobcats are just 1-8 all-time against the Red Foxes after picking up their first win in the series earlier this year at home in a dramatic five-set contest (18-16 in the fifth). On the other half of the draw, the Bobcats are 2-15 against Siena after sweeping the Saints this season, and now have a winning record (6-5) against Rider after a two-game sweep of the Broncs. Top seed and tournament host Fairfield is the other MAAC team that Quinnipiac has never defeated, as the Stags improved to 9-0 all-time in the series after taking both matches from the Bobcats this fall.

LEIGH'S RENEWAL
Senior middle hitter Allison Leigh is back after missing all but the first three matches of last season with an injury, and she has had a big role in Quinnipiac's turnaround. She came into the 2016 campaign already ranking fifth in school history in career blocks (286) after only two full seasons, as well as second among players who played their whole careers at the Division I level (behind only 537 from Heather Wollyung). She now has 167 blocks this season, a new Quinnipiac DI record which puts her fourth in the nation in total blocks (through Nov. 13). She now holds the first, third and fourth highest single-season block totals in Quinnipiac's DI history in her three full collegiate seasons and she also places 11th in the nation in Division I for career blocks per set (1.29) heading into the week.

QUINNIPIAC - CAREER BLOCKS LEADERS
744   Shannon Dublin   1999
620   Karen Klein   1999
537   Heather Wollyung   2003
453   Allison Leigh   2017
382   Jen McClain   1999

QUINNIPIAC - DIVISION I SINGLE-SEASON BLOCK LEADERS
167   Allison Leigh   2016
145   Shannon Dublin   1998
136   Allison Leigh   2013
127   Allison Leigh   2014
127   Heather Wollyung   2002

A FINE SENIOR DAY
Senior middle hitter Allison Leigh had a memorable Senior Day in Quinnipiac's 3-1 win over Rider on Oct. 30. She tied the school's Division I record for most blocks in a season with her 145th (a solo block in the third set) and then had the winning kill in the fourth set with the score 24-23.

DOUBLING UP
Senior middle hitter Allison Leigh has pulled off five double-doubles this season in kills and blocks, picking up her fifth on Oct. 23 at Manhattan with 11 kills and 10 blocks. She also had one on Oct. 2 against Niagara with 12 kills and 10 blocks, another with 14 kills and 10 blocks against Saint Francis Brooklyn on Sept. 3, and two double-doubles in five-set wins at the Friar Classic, one against La Salle (13 kills, 10 blocks) on Sept. 9 and one against host Providence (10 kills, 12 blocks) on Sept. 10. La Salle and Providence both came in to the tournament with only one loss on the year before falling to Leigh and the Bobcats (La Salle 7-1, Providence 9-1).

ALLISON LEIGH DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Sept. 3   Saint Francis (NY)   14 kills, 10 blocks
Sept. 9   La Salle   13 kills, 10 blocks
Sept. 10   Providence   10 kills, 12 blocks
Oct. 2   Niagara   12 kills, 10 blocks
Oct. 23   Manhattan   11 kills, 10 blocks

SETTING THE TABLE
Freshman setter Maria Pansari is off to an impressive start to her collegiate career, currently ranking first in the MAAC by a wide margin in assists per set at 10.3 (Zoe Lindsey of Manhattan is second at 9.4). Pansari has reached the 40-assist plateau 18 times in her first 31 matches, and has hit 50 assists seven times, with a high of 58 in a five-set win at Rider. She now has 1227 assists this season (ranking fourth nationally through Nov. 13), making her the first to reach 1000 assists at the Division I level. In fact, only two Bobcat setters have reached 1000 assists at the Division I level in their entire careers. Pansari was twice named the MAAC Rookie of the Week in her first three weeks of college competition.

MARIA PANSARI - 50-ASSIST MATCHES
58 at Rider (9/17) - 5 sets
56 vs. Rider (10/30) – 4 sets
55 vs. Holy Cross (9/10) - 4 sets
53 vs. Niagara (10/2) - 5 sets
52 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson (9/7) - 4 sets
50 at Providence (9/10) - 5 sets
50 at Canisius (11/6) - 5 sets

QUINNIPIAC - DIVISION I SINGLE-SEASON ASSIST LEADERS
1227 Maria Pansari   2016
992   Kayla Lawler   2010
952   Jen McClain   1998
920   Kayla Lawler   2008
785   Kayla Lawler   2009

QUINNIPIAC - SINGLE-SEASON ASSIST LEADERS (ALL DIVISIONS)
1314   Jen McClain   1997
1227   Maria Pansari   2016
1182   Jen McClain   1995
1071   Jen McClain   1996
991 Kayla Lawler   2010

ANOTHER MILLENNIAL?
Freshman setter Maria Pansari (see above) hit a major milestone with 1000 assists this season, but she may not be the only Bobcat to reach the "millennium mark" this fall. Senior defensive specialist Cody Michaels enters the MAAC Tournament with 985 digs in her four seasons and needs just 15 in the tournament to hit the mark. Her season high is 18 at Iona, and she has been in double figures seven times, giving her an outside chance in one match and an excellent chance if the Bobcats play at least two.

QUINNIPIAC - DIVISION I CAREER DIG LEADERS
1469   Logan Riker   2013
1017   Kelby Carey   2011
985   Cody Michaels   2017
918   Heather Grutta   2002
819   Kayla Lawler   2011

COFFEY TALK
Sophomore outside hitter Jen Coffey leads the team in kills this season (371) by a wide margin, over 100 more than her closest teammate (senior Allison Leigh with 266). Coffey had a career-high 22 kills on Oct. 2 against Niagara and 20 in an Oct. 16 win over Siena, the only two times this season that a Bobcat has reached the 20-kill mark. She also started off this season in fine fashion, leading Quinnipiac with 50 kills in four matches at the La Salle Invitational, including 19 kills against Saint Francis (Pa.), setting a new career high surpassing the 18 she had against UMass Lowell last year. She also had 18 kills in a big five-set win over Rider in Quinnipiac's MAAC opener on Sept. 17. Coffey was named the Quinnipiac Athletics Female Athlete of the Month for October, it was announced in the first week in November.

COFFEY MOVING UP THE CHARTS
Sophomore outside hitter Jen Coffey's 371 kills sees her ranked fourth on Quinnipiac's all-time Division I list heading into the MAAC Tournament. She is in striking distance of third place (404 by Shannon Dublin in 1998) if Quinnipiac plays in at least two matches, and then it is a big jump to second (451 by Heather Wollyung in 2002).

QUINNIPIAC - DIVISION I SINGLE-SEASON KILL LEADERS
485   Heather Wollyung   2000
451   Heather Wollyung   2002
404   Shannon Dublin   1998
371    Jen Coffey   2016
348   Janine Wilk   1998

RODRIGUEZ HAS IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Freshman libero Alejandra Rodriguez has had a strong freshman season helping to solidify the Bobcat defense. She now has 371 digs on the year, which ranks fifth on Quinnipiac's Division I single-season list. To move into the top five, she had 21 digs in the regular season finale at Fairfield (two off her personal best set in her debut against St. Francis Pa.), which edged her past her current teammate, Cody Michaels, who had 367 in the 2014 season.

QUINNIPIAC - DIVISION I SINGLE-SEASON DIG LEADERS
426   Tracey Wright   2011
423   Logan Riker   2010
406   Logan Riker   2009
391   Logan Riker   2013
371   Alejandra Rodriguez    2016
367   Cody Michaels   2014

MILLER TIME
Sophomore Kat Miller came up with clutch points to win a pair of tight home matches on the weekend of Oct. 15-16. She came through with a big kill on Quinnipiac's fifth match point to give the Bobcats a 3-2 win over Marist on Oct. 15 (18-16 in the fifth set). The following day, she accounted for the final two points in the match in a 29-27 fourth-set win over Siena, recording a kill to set up a match point and a service ace to win it. After splitting time at setter and outside hitter last year, Miller has settled into an outside hitter role this season and has 234 kills and 327 digs. She also picked up six double-doubles on the year, with the last coming with 12 kills and 13 digs at Canisius on Nov. 6.

KLOOS, RODRIGUEZ EARN MAAC WEEKLY HONORS (SEPT. 28)
Junior middle hitter Elizabeth Kloos and freshman libero Alejandra Rodriguez were named the MAAC Player of the Week and Libero of the Week, respectively, on Sept. 27, the fifth and sixth award winners this season for the Bobcats. Kloos hit an even .500 on the week, including .679 in the two home matches against Iona and Manhattan. Rodriguez led the Bobcats in all three matches, including 21 in a three-set win at Siena, two shy of her personal best set in her debut against Saint Francis (Pa.) on Aug. 26. Quinnipiac has now had two Player of the Week Awards from Kloos and one from Allison Leigh, while Maria Pansari has twice been named the Rookie of the Week. The Bobcats had earned only four Player of the Week honors in their 17-year Division I history prior to this season (including one Player of the Week honor from current senior Emma Ogden as a freshman in 2013).

QUINNIPIAC - MAAC WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS
Aug. 30: Allison Leigh (Player of the Week)
Aug. 30: Maria Pansari (Rookie of the Week)
Sept. 13: Elizabeth Kloos (Player of the Week)
Sept. 13: Maria Pansari (Rookie of the Week)
Sept. 27: Elizabeth Kloos (Player of the Week)
Sept. 27: Alejandra Rodriguez (Libero of the Week)

A STRING OF W's
The Bobcats had a seven-match winning streak which was snapped by Niagara on Oct. 2 in five sets, dating back to a 3-2 win over Providence on Sept. 10. It represents the longest winning streak that the program has had at the Division I level, passing the five-match win streak it had in 2000. The 1990 and 1993 teams are tied for the overall program record at 11 in a row, set at the Division II level.

A SEASON OF FIRSTS
Quinnipiac has defeated five teams this season that it has never defeated before at the Division I level, four of them in MAAC contests, including a dramatic five-set win over Marist, which it had been 0-7 against. In the same week, the Bobcats defeated Siena on the road on Sept. 21 after coming in 0-15 all-time against the Saints and then defeated Iona after going winless in its first 13 meetings with the Gaels on Sept. 24. An Oct. 1 win over Canisius was its first against the Golden Griffins after coming in 0-8. Earlier this season, the Bobcats defeated Bryant for the first time at the Division I level after compiling an 0-12 record against the Bulldogs. Niagara and Fairfield are the last two MAAC teams left that the Bobcats haven't beaten, and the Bobcats will have at least one more chance to knock off Niagara in the MAAC quarterfinals, as well as a potential chance to try again against Fairfield if both teams reach the finals.

SISTER ACT
The Bobcats have two sets of siblings on this year's team, with the addition of freshman outside hitter Natalie Alechko and freshman defensive specialist Lauren Miller to the roster. Alechko's older sister, Sam, is a senior middle hitter on this year's squad, while Miller's older sister, Kat, is a sophomore outside hitter.

VILLA MARIA CONNECTION
Sophomore Kat Miller, freshman Lauren Miller (Kat's younger sister), and freshman Kaleigh Oates were all part of a successful Villa Maria Academy high school program in Pennsylvania before coming to Quinnipiac. Oates and Laura Miller helped Villa Maria earn a District 1 championship and an appearance in the state semifinals last fall, while the three alumnae were responsible for leading the team to AACA league titles and district finals appearances in 2013 and 2014.

REGULAR SEASON MEETINGS WITH NIAGARA
Both matches this year were tight, with the Purple Eagles earning a 3-2 win at Quinnipiac on Oct. 2 and then defending their home court with a 3-1 win on Nov. 5. In the first meeting, the Bobcats cruised in the first set 25-15, but then the teams traded off 26-24 wins as Quinnipiac took a 2-1 lead. The Purple Eagles then prevailed in the fourth 25-21 and captured the decisive fifth set 15-11. Sophomore Jen Coffey had a career-high 22 kills in the loss, while Allison Leigh had a double-double with 12 kills and 10 blocks.

REGULAR SEASON MEETINGS WITH MARIST (IF QU ADVANCES)
The Bobcats had one of the most dramatic wins in program history when it took a 3-2 win over Marist back on Oct. 15, winning the fifth set 18-16. Quinnipiac had three match points leading 14-11, but saw them slip away and then had to fight off a Marist match point down 16-15. Alejandra Rodriguez came up with a sprawling match-saving dig to keep the Bobcats in the match, and then Quinnipiac went on a 3-0 run, capped off by a Kat Miller kill, to take the 18-16 win in the set and the 3-2 win in the match. Jen Coffey had 17 kills and Elizabeth Kloos 13 for the Bobcats. Marist won the rematch in straight sets (25-22, 25-22, 25-19) despite a match-high 12 kills from Allison Leigh.