Fairfield's Theiller, Nicolini & Rider's Aldaya Earn Weekly Volleyball Awards
MAAC Sports
Player of the Week
Megan Theiller, Fairfield
Jr., OH, Hopewell Junction, NY/John Jay-East Fishkill HS
Megan Theiller led the Fairfield attack in a pair of sweeps as the Stags remained unbeaten at 11-0 in the MAAC. In the home wins over Siena and Marist, Theiller averaged 4.67 kills per set on .426 hitting. She added 2.00 digs per frame (12 total) and two blocks to the defensive effort. Theiller rounded out her statline with four service aces and an assist. In Saturday’s win over Siena, she hit .480 en route to 14 kills (14-2-25) with six digs, two aces and an assist. She notched 14 kills once again in Sunday’s sweep of Marist, hitting .379 (14-3-29) in the three-setter. Theiller added six digs, two blocks (one solo) and two aces against the Red Foxes.
Libero of the Week
Emma Aldaya, Rider
Jr., Libero, Prospect Park, PA/Merion Mercy Academy
Aldaya helped lead Rider to a 2-0 week in the MAAC as the Broncs defeated Manhattan 3-0 and Iona 3-1…against the Jaspers, Aldaya had 14 digs and a service ace in the three-set sweep and against the Gaels, she recorded 19 digs and five assists…for the week, Aldaya averaged 4.71 digs per set and had only two reception errors as the Broncs moved to .500 overall and in conference play.
Rookie of the Week
Manuela Nicolini, Fairfield
Fr., S, Castelnuovo Rangone, Italy/ Istituto d’Arte A. Venturi
Manuela Nicolini helped pilot the Fairfield offense and helmed the defensive effort at the net in a pair of MAAC sweeps. She averaged 7.17 assists per frame and guided the Stags to a .316 team attack percentage while adding three kills of her own in the three-set victories over visiting Siena and Marist. Nicolini totaled 10 blocks on the week (1.67 per set) with 1.33 digs per frame in the wins. She dished out 19 assists with a career-best seven blocks, five digs and two kills in Saturday’s win over Siena. On Sunday, she handed out 24 helpers with three blocks, three digs and a kill in the 3-0 triumph over Marist that moved the Stags to an unbeaten 11-0 in MAAC play.