HAMDEN — It isn’t a secret that Quinnipiac’s biggest rival in the MAAC is Fairfield. 

From the past two MAAC finals to regular season match-ups, these two teams are each other’s kryptonite.

Don’t believe me? Fairfield has been undefeated in the MAAC since Oct. 29, 2023 — its last drive up to Hamden, when it lost to Quinnipiac in four sets. That was, until Sunday afternoon, when the Bobcats clawed out a 3-2 win over the Stags at home once again.

“It was cool, it was just a really good match, a fun match,” head coach Kyle Robinson said. “Every win for me is big, but it almost gives a little bit of validation to some of the players that aren’t completely bought in, who don’t believe that we are as good as these teams … if you see this performance and you don’t believe, you don’t deserve to be here.”

The game started off well for the Bobcats, as they went on an early 6-0 run after four errors from the Stags — a lead that Fairfield couldn’t close for the rest of the set, as Quinnipiac took it 25-18. 

Fairfield quickly shook itself off and from the start of the second, it became a good old-fashioned tug-of-war until the end of the fifth set, where either team could’ve easily taken the win. But the Bobcats prevailed, even after losing the second and fourth sets 25-27 and 22-25 respectively to snag a 15-9 win in the final set. 

“It is important to play tight games without going into the chaos of volleyball,” junior setter Damla Gunes said. “We stayed really calm, I didn’t expect my inner peace to be that.” 

Speaking of Gunes, the Bursa, Turkey native recorded a career-high in assists (58), as well as two kills and three service aces. 

Right alongside her was her twin, junior outside hitter Yagmur Gunes with 19 kills, 13 digs and two service aces. 

“(Yagmur) is an unbelievable volleyball player,” Robinson said. “Her style and smoothness that she plays, don’t have a lot of kids here that do that.”

The pack, however, was clearly led by graduate student opposite Elena Giacomini who noted 31 kills, two service aces, one solo block and 15 digs. 

“(Elena)’s just a really talented volleyball player,” Robinson said. “To see her show her fans, the public, her at her best and then get a good win out of it is great, because no one deserves it more than she does.”

It was fitting that international players shined in this game, as the various flags that decorated Burt Khan celebrated international student-athletes day — especially for a team that is half international.

“It’s so great to be able to bring something different to the team, not just in terms of volleyball but in terms of culture,” the Italian native Giacomini said. “It’s just great that the coach has this perspective to bring in different players from different backgrounds and it’s just a great environment.”

“I always am trying to be polite and careful when I speak about the type of players I bring in, because I don’t want to ever give the impression that I’m anti-American,” Robinson said. “I’m not. I love my country, I just happen to like international volleyball players and their style better than most of the girls playing here.”

Regardless of Robinson’s recruitment style, all of his players showed up today for the win, including freshman libero Carola Negron Diaz who came off of another injury — after missing out on the start of the season due to multiple back-related injuries — recording 22 digs and three assists.  

“(She’s) a very very good volleyball player and if you pair that with her poise as a freshman, it’s somewhat unheard of,” Robinson said. “There’s some nerves going on and whatever, but she (doesn’t) show it. It’s nice to see her do her thing back there and in a really mature way, generally don’t get that out of a freshman.”

Quinnipiac now moves to 11-3 in the conference, slowly improving its statistics and numbers with each game. 

“This is kind of us, we seem to peak at the right times,” Robinson said. ‘Which I’m quite alright with, I’m patient and I understand how good of a team we are. A lot of teams kind of cave and fall (now), we’re starting to get better.”

While Quinnipiac is still battling for the second spot in the standings with Rider, even with this loss Fairfield stands strongly at No. 1 and will most likely keep that spot until the playoffs. Only time will tell if the MAAC gets a three-peat of the championship game. 

“This is a bold statement, but from a volleyball standpoint, we are one of the best teams in the country,” Robinson said. “We’re not the biggest and whatever, but we can play the game really, really well. And if we do that, we can win a lot of matches against really good teams.”

The Bobcats will welcome Siena and Marist next weekend for their final home games before closing out regular-season conference play on the road.