2020-21 MAAC Volleyball Championship Preview
Albany, NY (Mar. 31, 2021) – The 2020-21 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Volleyball Championship is set to begin Thursday, April 1, with three quarterfinal games. The championship will take place at Albany Capital Center in Albany, NY over the course of three days. Competing this year’s championship are Canisius College, Iona College, Manhattan College, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, and Siena College. Due to a positive COVID-19 test within their program, Fairfield University has withdrawn from the 2020-21 MAAC Volleyball Championship.
No fans will be admitted to the championship which is being held in the spring this year in a COVID-19 truncated season. All games will be broadcasted live on ESPN+. A.J. Kanell will handle the play-by-play call for the broadcasts and Lauren Eads will serve as the color analyst for the tournament.
Kicking off quarterfinal action on Thursday will be No. 2 Canisius (7-3) and No. 7 Quinnipiac (3-4) at 11 a.m. The Golden Griffins and Bobcats earned a split of their doubleheader back on March 14. Quinnipiac enters the tournament as the only team to have a win over the top-two seeds this season.
Quarterfinal No. 2 will feature third-seeded Niagara (4-3) taking on sixth-seeded Iona (3-6) at 2 p.m. This will be the first meeting between the two this season and their first in MAAC Championship since 2017 when Iona beat Niagara in straight sets to advance to the championship game.
No. 4 Rider (4-4) will play No. 5 Manhattan (4-6) at 5 p.m. to wrap up quarterfinal action. Manhattan returns to the MAAC Championship for the first time since 2018 and make their fifth appearance since 2011. Rider will look to continue where they left off, as they completed their regular season with a sweep of the Jaspers on March 21. This will be just the third time that they have met in the MAAC Championship, with Manhattan holding a 2-0 advantage.
Fairfield was scheduled to play Siena College in the opening round of the 2020-21 MAAC Volleyball Championship. The match has been declared a no-contest and Siena will advance to the semifinals.
2020-21 MAAC VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
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| Thursday, April 1 |
Match-Up |
Time |
Network |
| Quarterfinal #1 |
No. 2 Canisius vs. No. 7 Quinnipiac |
11:00 am |
ESPN+ |
| Quarterfinal #2 |
No. 3 Niagara vs. No.6 Iona |
2:00 pm |
ESPN+ |
| Quarterfinal #3 |
No. 4 Rider vs. No. 5 Manhattan |
5:00 pm |
ESPN+ |
|
No.1 Fairfield vs. No. 8 Siena (NO-CONTEST) |
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| Friday, April 2 |
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| Semifinal #1 |
Quarterfinal #1 Winner vs. Quarterfinal #2 Winner |
4:00 pm |
ESPN+ |
| Semifinal #2 |
Quarterfinal #3 Winner vs. No. 8 Siena |
7:00 pm |
ESPN+ |
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| Saturday, April 3 |
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| Championship Game |
Semifinal #1 Winner vs. Semifinal #2 Winner |
4:00 pm |
ESPN+ |
Keep up with all MAAC volleyball action by following @MAACSports on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram and by searching #MAACVB. For championship information, visit
MAACSports.com/VB.
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) celebrates its 40
th year of competition during the 2020-21 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.