After losing to Sacred Heart in four sets the day before, Quinnipiac came into their game against rival Fairfield hungrier than ever. 

The Bobcats came in second in the MAAC at 10-3, while the Stags entered Hamden undefeated at 13-0. With five games left in the schedule, Quinnipiac still could make a push for the first seed if Fairfield drops a couple of matches. 

But before we look to the future, this game had plenty to offer.

The first set was solidly in favor of the Bobcats. They played simple volleyball, and it worked wonders for them. They served aggressively and maintained long stints at the service line. 

The story of this set is best told through offensive efficiency. Fairfield hit a miserable .069 while Quinnipiac hit .269. 

For their first 20 points of the set Quinnipiac was hitting a .345 on the back of six kills from graduate opposite Elena Giacomini. She would go on to control this game, registering a stat line of 31 kills on a .294 hitting percentage. 

She appreciated all the team has done for her, and the trust they’ve put in her as well.

“It’s about how these individuals interact,” said Giacomini. “And this is why it’s not about my 31 kills, it’s about all the interaction that goes with that. Today we showed how good, how high the standards that we have can go and I’m very proud of saying that today, the team won.”

The second set had the craziest back-and-forth battles of the whole match. The set ended in a 27-25 Fairfield win, but there were many ups and downs for both sides. 

Towards the end of the set, it looked like it was slipping away from Quinnipiac when they went down 20-17 after a big Fairfield block. Still, they kept their composure and rallied back, going up 24-22. 

The Bobcats couldn’t close it out and succumbed to Fairfield outside hitter Mickayla Haut, who posted three kills in the final five points of the set.

The Bobcats continued to show their fight in the third set, which was also very back and forth. 

This time, Quinnipiac showed what they were made of in crunch time. Giacomini had a clutch swing to give the Bobcats the 24-22 lead again, and they wouldn’t let it go. 

Sophomore outside hitter Yagmur Gunes stepped up to the service line and delivered her team an ace, ending the set before Fairfield could gain any momentum.

Set four was another dogfight, but it was consistently Fairfield favored.

 Quinnipiac wasn’t taking advantage of Fairfield’s mistakes like they were in the previous three sets, and the defense got caught flat-footed on a few occasions.

 Down 23-16 Quinnipiac looked lifeless, and ready to surrender to move on to the final set. However, Yagmur Gunes started with a hit that found a perfect spot in the back row, and the Bobcats were showing signs of life. 

They played some gritty defense on a long rally that kept them in the game down 24-20. Yagmur had an amazing block with junior middle blocker Bailey Brashear, and Giacomini hit an impressive spot right between the seam of two Fairfield players in the back row. 

Despite some big plays, Fairfield came out of their timeout and put a routine ball into the ground, ending the Bobcats’ hopes to rally and forcing a fifth set.

In my short time at Quinnipiac, I’ve seen the Stags steal matches from the Bobcats under much more dire circumstances than these. Head coach Kyle Robinson and his Bobcats weren’t phased by the pressure.

“I believe in our service, that if we can just keep siding out and going back and forth will help the levee break in our favor,” said Robinson. “It was just a really good match, a really fun match as a true kind of purist fan of the sport.”

Luckily for Robinson, Quinnipiac kept siding out, and the levee finally broke in the fifth set. The defense and offense alike were clicking simultaneously and it was a beautiful thing to watch. 

Granted, the Bobcats made their fair share of mistakes, but momentum was on their side when they needed it most. 

After a pretty bad miscommunication error, Quinnipiac went full throttle. Up by only one point, they scored the next five in a row to take the set and the match. 

Emotions were at a high, especially for junior setter Damla Gunes, who recorded a whopping 58 assists and shed a couple of happy tears after toppling the MAAC leaders.

“It means a lot. It was personal for sure. You know, it goes with Fairfield,” said Damla. “I was emotional because I was happy that the work we put in kind of showed out on the court. We’ve been dealing with a lot of injuries and a lot of drama happening outside of us. We’re trying to not let that affect us on the court and stay together as a team. So that meant a lot, just our hard work paying off.”

Quinnipiac has their next two games at home against Siena and Marist, on Saturday, November 9, and on Sunday, November 10 respectively.