Friday, November 17
Fairfield, Conn.
5:00 PM
Quinnipiac University
vs
Iona
QU Volleyball Returns To MAAC Tournament, Faces Iona Friday In Opening Round
11/16/2017 8:22:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Friday, Nov. 19, 2017 | 5 PM | George Bisacca Court, Fairfield, Conn.
#6 QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY BOBCATS vs. #3 IONA GAELS
Watch It Live: ESPN3
Follow Live Stats: FairfieldStags.com
Updates: @QUWVB
Tickets: TicketLeap.com
Tournament Notes: Quinnipiac
Season Series vs. Iona: Iona 3-2 (Sept. 17 at Iona), Iona 3-1 (Oct. 21 at Quinnipiac)
Last Year's MAAC Tournament: W 3-2 over Niagara, W 3-1 over Marist, L 3-0 to Fairfield
HAMDEN, Conn. - The Quinnipiac volleyball team will make its second straight appearance in the MAAC Tournament this weekend, opening play as the No. 6 seed on Friday at 5 p.m. against No. 3 seed Iona. The winner of that match will advance to Saturday's 5 p.m. semifinal against No. 2. Niagara, while top-seeded and host Fairfield looms as the team to beet, with a 50-march winning streak against MAAC opponents (46 regular season, four tournament), including a 3-0 win over Quinnipiac in last year's championship match.
TOURNAMENT NOTES
BACK IN THE MAAC
Quinnipiac is participating in the MAAC Tournament for the second straight season. Last year marked the first time that the Bobcats had qualified for the MAAC postseason on merit (in the 2014, the entire league earned bids to the championships held in Orlando). Quinnipiac had a long postseason drought dating back to its days in the Northeast Conference in 2004, before ending it last year
DOUBLE-DIGIT WINS
Quinnipiac's 10 wins this season marks the second-highest total that the Bobcats have had as full NCAA Division I members (beginning in 2000). The Bobcats had 10 wins in 2000 and 2002, and then did reach double figures again until its record-shattering 21-win season last year.
Quinnipiac Top Win Totals - Division I
21 2016
14 1998 (transition year)
10 2017
10 2000
10 2002
REGULAR SEASON vs. IONA
The Bobcats open play in the MAAC against Iona, which took both regular season meetings, a five-setter in New Rochelle and a four-setter in Hamden. Iona did not qualify for last year's MAAC Championships while the Bobcats reached the finals, so Quinnipiac will hope that its postseason experience will offset the lower seeding. Jen Coffey had 20 kills in the five-set loss at Iona, while Claire Archibald led Iona with 26 kills. Alechko had a team-high 12 kills in the loss in the rematch, but Archibald had 19 for the Gaels.
SETTING THE TABLE
Sophomore setter Maria Pansari has 938 assists this season with a chance to hit the 1000 mark for the second straight year, especially if the Bobcats advance to the semifinals. Last year, she became the first Quinnipiac setter at the Division I level to reach 1000 assists, and she flew past that mark all the way to an all-divisions record of 1,358. She began this season sharing the setting duties with freshman Morgan Sherwin, but still has a chance at hitting the 1K mark.
QUINNIPIAC - DIVISION I SINGLE-SEASON ASSIST LEADERS
1358 Maria Pansari 2016
992 Kayla Lawler 2010
952 Jen McClain 1998
938 Maria Pansari 2017
920 Kayla Lawler 2008
QUINNIPIAC - SINGLE-SEASON ASSIST LEADERS (ALL DIVISIONS)
1358 Maria Pansari 2016
1314 Jen McClain 1997
1182 Jen McClain 1995
1071 Jen McClain 1996
991 Kayla Lawler 2010
QUINNIPIAC - CAREER ASSIST LEADERS (ALL DIVISIONS)
4519 Jen McClain 1999
3431 Kayla Lawler 2012
2296 Maria Pansari 2019
1508 Janka Lopatto 2004
1358 Maria Pansari 2020
ACE UP HER SLEEVE
Sophomore setter Maria Pansari isn't only denting the Quinnipiac record books in assists. Her 51 aces this year ranks her fourth in the school's Division I history.
QUINNIPIAC - SINGLE-SEASON ACE LEADERS (DIVISION I)
72 Shannon Dublin 1998
63 Karen Klein 1998
53 Kayla Lawler 2010
51 Maria Pansari 2017
48 Heather Wollyung 2000
A TRYING SEASON
Quinnipiac has been devastated by injuries this season but fought through it to earn the playoff bid. Heading into the offseason, the five top hitters on the team projected to be middles Claire Knust and Elizabeth Kloos, outside hitters Jen Coffey and Natalie Alechko and right side hitter Kat Miller, with Alejandra Rodriguez returning at libero. Knust hasn't played at all after offseason surgery, Kloos missed 11 matches (all in MAAC play) with a broken ankle before returning in the final weekend against Canisius, and Coffey has missed 14 matches (all in MAAC play) with an injury,. Miller missed three MAAC matches entirely and barely played in three others, Alechko missed the first two MAAC matches, and Rodriguez missed eight non-conference matches. All told, the six players have combined to miss 70 matches this year.
KLOOS WITH A WILLIS REED IMPRESSION
Quinnipiac headed into the final weekend with essentially a winner-take-all battle for the final MAAC playoff spot. Senior Elizabeth Kloos had not played since breaking her ankle in a late September practice and the team hoped that she might be able to return for the conference tournament. She beat the timetable by one week, and went out there on her Senior Day to try to help the Bobcats to the big win. She played in three of the four sets and had four kills in 12 attempts, perhaps a modest contribution statistically compared to, say, the 20 kills in 33 attempts she had against Rider before her injury. But having her back out there on Senior Day in a big match certainly provided an inspirational lift that helped the Bobcats to the 3-1 win. After securing the bid, she didn't dress for the finale against Niagara to rest up for the MAAC Tournament.
KLOOS, COFFEY HIGH ON KILL LIST
Quinnipiac co-captains, senior Elizabeth Kloos and junior Jen Coffey, missed almost the entire MAAC season with injuries. Coffey was injured in the fourth conference match, and Kloos was injured after the fifth. Kloos made her first appearance in six weeks against Canisius on her Senior Day on Sunday and had four kills. She now has 775 in her career, placing her fourth in Quinnipiac history at the Division I level, while Coffey ranks fifth with 757.
QUINNIPIAC - DIVISION I CAREER KILL LEADERS
1595 Heather Wollyung 2002
946 Kelby Carey 2011
806 Kalyn Hundley 2005
775 Elizabeth Kloos 2018
757 Jen Coffey 2019
GRIFFIN KILLER
You can make the case that sophomore Natalie Alechko is the biggest reason why the Bobcats are continuing their season in the MAAC Tournament. Her performances in Quinnipiac's two meetings with Canisius were a major factor in edging out the Golden Griffins for the final bid, including 25 kills in a five-set win on the road on October 1. The Bobcats had just lost Elizabeth Kloos, Jen Coffey and Kat Miller to injuries in the span of five days, and trailed Canisius 2-1 before Alechko went off, tallying kills for four of Quinnipiac's final five points in the fourth set to tie the match 2-2, and then rattling off nine kills (and an ace) in a 20-18 win in the fifth. Alechko accounted for Quinnipiac points No. 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 before finishing the match on the back row. The 25 kills were just one shy of the school record, which was set at the Division II level. In the rematch, she added 19 kills in the 3-1 win that clinched the MAAC bid.
IF QUINNIPIAC ADVANCES
The Bobcats will face a tough challenge if they get past Iona, as second-seeded Niagara (14-4 MAAC) awaits the winner on Saturday. Quinnipiac lost both in the season series this year (3-0 at Niagara, 3-1 in Hamden), but also lost both last season before beating the Purple Eagles 3-2 in the opening round of the MAAC Tournament (16-14 in the fifth) after fighting off a match point. It might be tough to extrapolate much from the two meetings this year. The first one came after the Bobcats lost Jen Coffey (vs. Rider on Sept. 24), Kat Miller (vs. Siena on Sept. 27) and Elizabeth Kloos (practice on Sept. 28) with injuries in the span of five days. The rematch came in the regular season finale, when neither team had anything significant to play for (Niagara was locked into the two seed, Quinnipiac had clinched its bid the day before).
#6 QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY BOBCATS vs. #3 IONA GAELS
Watch It Live: ESPN3
Follow Live Stats: FairfieldStags.com
Updates: @QUWVB
Tickets: TicketLeap.com
Tournament Notes: Quinnipiac
Season Series vs. Iona: Iona 3-2 (Sept. 17 at Iona), Iona 3-1 (Oct. 21 at Quinnipiac)
Last Year's MAAC Tournament: W 3-2 over Niagara, W 3-1 over Marist, L 3-0 to Fairfield
HAMDEN, Conn. - The Quinnipiac volleyball team will make its second straight appearance in the MAAC Tournament this weekend, opening play as the No. 6 seed on Friday at 5 p.m. against No. 3 seed Iona. The winner of that match will advance to Saturday's 5 p.m. semifinal against No. 2. Niagara, while top-seeded and host Fairfield looms as the team to beet, with a 50-march winning streak against MAAC opponents (46 regular season, four tournament), including a 3-0 win over Quinnipiac in last year's championship match.
TOURNAMENT NOTES
BACK IN THE MAAC
Quinnipiac is participating in the MAAC Tournament for the second straight season. Last year marked the first time that the Bobcats had qualified for the MAAC postseason on merit (in the 2014, the entire league earned bids to the championships held in Orlando). Quinnipiac had a long postseason drought dating back to its days in the Northeast Conference in 2004, before ending it last year
DOUBLE-DIGIT WINS
Quinnipiac's 10 wins this season marks the second-highest total that the Bobcats have had as full NCAA Division I members (beginning in 2000). The Bobcats had 10 wins in 2000 and 2002, and then did reach double figures again until its record-shattering 21-win season last year.
Quinnipiac Top Win Totals - Division I
21 2016
14 1998 (transition year)
10 2017
10 2000
10 2002
REGULAR SEASON vs. IONA
The Bobcats open play in the MAAC against Iona, which took both regular season meetings, a five-setter in New Rochelle and a four-setter in Hamden. Iona did not qualify for last year's MAAC Championships while the Bobcats reached the finals, so Quinnipiac will hope that its postseason experience will offset the lower seeding. Jen Coffey had 20 kills in the five-set loss at Iona, while Claire Archibald led Iona with 26 kills. Alechko had a team-high 12 kills in the loss in the rematch, but Archibald had 19 for the Gaels.
SETTING THE TABLE
Sophomore setter Maria Pansari has 938 assists this season with a chance to hit the 1000 mark for the second straight year, especially if the Bobcats advance to the semifinals. Last year, she became the first Quinnipiac setter at the Division I level to reach 1000 assists, and she flew past that mark all the way to an all-divisions record of 1,358. She began this season sharing the setting duties with freshman Morgan Sherwin, but still has a chance at hitting the 1K mark.
QUINNIPIAC - DIVISION I SINGLE-SEASON ASSIST LEADERS
1358 Maria Pansari 2016
992 Kayla Lawler 2010
952 Jen McClain 1998
938 Maria Pansari 2017
920 Kayla Lawler 2008
QUINNIPIAC - SINGLE-SEASON ASSIST LEADERS (ALL DIVISIONS)
1358 Maria Pansari 2016
1314 Jen McClain 1997
1182 Jen McClain 1995
1071 Jen McClain 1996
991 Kayla Lawler 2010
QUINNIPIAC - CAREER ASSIST LEADERS (ALL DIVISIONS)
4519 Jen McClain 1999
3431 Kayla Lawler 2012
2296 Maria Pansari 2019
1508 Janka Lopatto 2004
1358 Maria Pansari 2020
ACE UP HER SLEEVE
Sophomore setter Maria Pansari isn't only denting the Quinnipiac record books in assists. Her 51 aces this year ranks her fourth in the school's Division I history.
QUINNIPIAC - SINGLE-SEASON ACE LEADERS (DIVISION I)
72 Shannon Dublin 1998
63 Karen Klein 1998
53 Kayla Lawler 2010
51 Maria Pansari 2017
48 Heather Wollyung 2000
A TRYING SEASON
Quinnipiac has been devastated by injuries this season but fought through it to earn the playoff bid. Heading into the offseason, the five top hitters on the team projected to be middles Claire Knust and Elizabeth Kloos, outside hitters Jen Coffey and Natalie Alechko and right side hitter Kat Miller, with Alejandra Rodriguez returning at libero. Knust hasn't played at all after offseason surgery, Kloos missed 11 matches (all in MAAC play) with a broken ankle before returning in the final weekend against Canisius, and Coffey has missed 14 matches (all in MAAC play) with an injury,. Miller missed three MAAC matches entirely and barely played in three others, Alechko missed the first two MAAC matches, and Rodriguez missed eight non-conference matches. All told, the six players have combined to miss 70 matches this year.
KLOOS WITH A WILLIS REED IMPRESSION
Quinnipiac headed into the final weekend with essentially a winner-take-all battle for the final MAAC playoff spot. Senior Elizabeth Kloos had not played since breaking her ankle in a late September practice and the team hoped that she might be able to return for the conference tournament. She beat the timetable by one week, and went out there on her Senior Day to try to help the Bobcats to the big win. She played in three of the four sets and had four kills in 12 attempts, perhaps a modest contribution statistically compared to, say, the 20 kills in 33 attempts she had against Rider before her injury. But having her back out there on Senior Day in a big match certainly provided an inspirational lift that helped the Bobcats to the 3-1 win. After securing the bid, she didn't dress for the finale against Niagara to rest up for the MAAC Tournament.
KLOOS, COFFEY HIGH ON KILL LIST
Quinnipiac co-captains, senior Elizabeth Kloos and junior Jen Coffey, missed almost the entire MAAC season with injuries. Coffey was injured in the fourth conference match, and Kloos was injured after the fifth. Kloos made her first appearance in six weeks against Canisius on her Senior Day on Sunday and had four kills. She now has 775 in her career, placing her fourth in Quinnipiac history at the Division I level, while Coffey ranks fifth with 757.
QUINNIPIAC - DIVISION I CAREER KILL LEADERS
1595 Heather Wollyung 2002
946 Kelby Carey 2011
806 Kalyn Hundley 2005
775 Elizabeth Kloos 2018
757 Jen Coffey 2019
GRIFFIN KILLER
You can make the case that sophomore Natalie Alechko is the biggest reason why the Bobcats are continuing their season in the MAAC Tournament. Her performances in Quinnipiac's two meetings with Canisius were a major factor in edging out the Golden Griffins for the final bid, including 25 kills in a five-set win on the road on October 1. The Bobcats had just lost Elizabeth Kloos, Jen Coffey and Kat Miller to injuries in the span of five days, and trailed Canisius 2-1 before Alechko went off, tallying kills for four of Quinnipiac's final five points in the fourth set to tie the match 2-2, and then rattling off nine kills (and an ace) in a 20-18 win in the fifth. Alechko accounted for Quinnipiac points No. 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 before finishing the match on the back row. The 25 kills were just one shy of the school record, which was set at the Division II level. In the rematch, she added 19 kills in the 3-1 win that clinched the MAAC bid.
IF QUINNIPIAC ADVANCES
The Bobcats will face a tough challenge if they get past Iona, as second-seeded Niagara (14-4 MAAC) awaits the winner on Saturday. Quinnipiac lost both in the season series this year (3-0 at Niagara, 3-1 in Hamden), but also lost both last season before beating the Purple Eagles 3-2 in the opening round of the MAAC Tournament (16-14 in the fifth) after fighting off a match point. It might be tough to extrapolate much from the two meetings this year. The first one came after the Bobcats lost Jen Coffey (vs. Rider on Sept. 24), Kat Miller (vs. Siena on Sept. 27) and Elizabeth Kloos (practice on Sept. 28) with injuries in the span of five days. The rematch came in the regular season finale, when neither team had anything significant to play for (Niagara was locked into the two seed, Quinnipiac had clinched its bid the day before).
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's Volleyball
RS/S
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