2017 MAAC Championships To Begin Friday Evening

Press Release courtesy of MAAC

The 2017 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Volleyball Championship takes place, November 17-19, and returns to George Bisacca Court at Alumni Hall on the campus of Fairfield University for the second year in a row. For more information on the 2017 MAAC Volleyball Championship, visit maacsports.com/vb and be sure to follow the action on social media by using #MAACVB. Tickets can be purchased at maac.ticketleap.com

MAAC on ESPN3: The entire 2017 MAAC Volleyball Championship is set to air on ESPN3 for the second year in a row. JJ Duke and Allison Gaskins are the on-air talent for all MAAC volleyball championship contests on ESPN3.

First Round Action: The 2017 MAAC Volleyball Championship begins with first round action on Friday, November 17. The first matchup features No. 3 Iona College (14-17, 11-7 MAAC) and No. 6 Quinnipiac University (10-21, 9-9 MAAC) at 5:00 p.m. The Gaels went (2-0) in the regular season against the Bobcats. Iona earned a 3-2 victory in the teams first meeting on September 17 and later picked up a 3-1 win on October 21. The Gaels advanced for the MAAC Volleyball Championship for the first time since 2014 and are the No. 3 seed for the first time since it last qualified for the Championship in 2013. Quinnipiac returns to the Championship for the second-straight season and is the No. 6 seed for the first time in program history. The Bobcats fell to Fairfield in the 2016 MAAC Volleyball Championship game.

No. 4 Marist College (14-15, 11-7 MAAC) faces No. 5 Rider University (17-14, 10-8 MAAC) in the second first round matchup on Friday, November 17 at 8:00 p.m. The Red Foxes and Broncs split the regular season series (1-1). Marist claimed the first win of the series, 3-2, on October 8. Rider took the second meeting, 3-1, on October 28. The Red Foxes have earned a berth into MAAC Volleyball Championship for the fifth year in a row. Marist is the No. 4 seed for the second time in program history, it was last the No. 4 seed in 2009. The Broncs are set to play in their fourth consecutive MAAC Volleyball Championship and are the No. 5 seed for the third time in the last four years (2017, 2015, 2014).

Waiting in the Wings: No. 1 Fairfield (23-6, 18-0 MAAC) and No. 2 Niagara University (18-9, 14-4 MAAC) receive first round byes as a result of being the top two seeds in the championship. 

The Streak: The Stags claimed their third-straight MAAC Volleyball Regular Season Championship and 17th in program history. Fairfield takes the court for the first time in the championship in the semifinals on Saturday, November 18, at 2:00 p.m. against the winner of No. 4 Marist or No. 5 Rider. Fairfield enters the championship with a 19-game winning streak and winners of 49-straight conference matches (including postseason and non-conference meetings) dating to October 22, 2015.

Two Sweet: No. 2 Niagara is set to appear in its fourth-straight MAAC Volleyball Championship. The Purple Eagles are the No. 2 seed for the third time in program history (2009, 1993). Niagara plays the winner of No. 3 Iona and No. 6 Quinnipiac in the semifinals on Saturday, November 18, at 5:00 p.m. 

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 37^th year of competition during the 2017-18 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.