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Hopewell Junction's Theiller Wins Conference Volleyball Honor

HOPEWELL JUNCTION, N.Y. – Fairfield University junior Megan Theiller, a graduate of John Jay and Hopewell Junction resident, was named the to Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference All-Conference volleyball as the Stags swept the league's top honors.

Megan Theiller, a graduate of John Jay, was named All-MAAC for the Fairfield University volleyball team.

Megan Theiller, a graduate of John Jay, was named All-MAAC for the Fairfield University volleyball team.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Fairfield University

The league's 10 coaches also selected Fairfield's Skyler Day as the league's Player of the Year. Co-captains Theiller and Megan O’Sullivan were named to the first team. In addition, Manuela Nicolini earned a spot on the All-MAAC Rookie Team, and coach Todd Kress was selected by his peers as the 2016 MAAC Coach of the Year.

Theiller garners her first career first team All-MAAC honor after leading the conference with four MAAC Player of the Week selections during the 2016 regular season. Theiller ranks second in the MAAC (behind Day) and 38th in the nation with 4.15 kills per set, while her 444 total kills rank eighth-most in Fairfield single-season history. She also slots seventh in the MAAC with a .280 hitting percentage despite having taken nearly 500 more swings than any other player ranked in the top 10. She also ranks second among Fairfield players with 2.79 digs to round out a team-leading 14 double-doubles.

Theiller hit .315 on the outside in Fairfield’s 18 MAAC contests this fall and led the conference during league play with 4.61 kills per set. Previously in her career, she was the 2014 MAAC Rookie of the Year and the Most Valuable Player of the 2015 MAAC Championship.

Day is Fairfield’s first MAAC Player of the Year since Lindsey Lee was named the MAAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2006. Day leads the MAAC and ranks 31st in the nation with 4.25 kills per set, while her 450 total kills this fall ranks sixth in a single-season in Fairfield history. She has also contributed 2.43 digs per set to the defensive effort en route to 10 double-doubles. In 106 sets of action, she has rounds out her statline with a team-high 29 service aces along with 25 blocks and 22 assists.

O’Sullivan also collects her second consecutive first team All-MAAC honor. The Stags’ only senior has posted 2.28 kills per frame while ranking second in the MAAC with a .322 hitting percentage from the middle.

Nicolini handed out 6.21 assists per set while piloting Fairfield to a MAAC-best .246 hitting percentage. She added to the offense with 51 kills of her own in 103 sets of action while hitting at a .385 clip. 

Fairfield has been led to a 26-5 overall record and an 18-0 MAAC tally by Kress, who collected his conference-record fifth MAAC Coach of the Year. Kress earns the award for the second consecutive season after winning it in three straight seasons from 1996-98 during his first stint on the Stags’ sidelines.

Fairfield’s plays in the MAAC semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 2 p.m. against the winner of Friday's matchup between fourth-seeded Rider and fifth-seeded Siena. 

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