Fairfield's Garcia, Rich and Rider's Runyon Collect Volleyball Weekly Accolades
Player of the Week
Mayda Garcia, Fairfield
Jr., McAllen, TX / James Nikki Rowe
Garcia powered the Fairfield attack in nine sets of MAAC action this past weekend with 5.22 kills on .283 hitting on the outside. She rounded out a pair of double-doubles with 4.56 digs per frame. Garcia's 29 kills in the five-set win over Niagara were the most by a MAAC student-athlete this season. She rounded out her weekend with three assists, five blocks and a service ace to post 51 total points (5.67 per set).
Libero of the Week
Rachelle Runyon, Rider
Jr., Aliso Viejo, CA / Aliso Niguel
Junior Rachelle Runyon had another strong week on the back line for the Broncs as Rider went 1-1 in league play to earn the No. 3 seed in the upcoming MAAC Tournament. Runyon averaged 6.00 digs per set and had a perfect serve receive percentage in 24 attempts for Rider. She opened the week with 17 digs in a three-set win over Manhattan. Runyon followed that up with 31 digs in a five-set contest at Saint Peter's. It marked her third match with 30 or more digs this season. All three have come in MAAC play. She is the only libero in the conference with more than two games with over 30 digs. On the year, Runyon has 501 digs. She is just the fifth different player in program history to record over 500 digs in as season.
Rookie of the Week
Alexis Rich, Fairfield
Fr., Nicholasville, KY / West Jessamine
Alexis Rich set Fairfield's rally-scoring era record with 68 assists in the five-set victory over Niagara on Saturday. The mark was the most by a MAAC student-athlete since 2004. For the week, Rich averaged 12.56 assists per set and completed a pair of double-doubles with 4.11 digs per frame. She filled out her weekly statline with 3 kills and 5 blocks.
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 38
th year of competition during the 2018-19 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.