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Edison, NJ – The 2008 MAAC Volleyball Championship begins this Sunday, November 23 with a pair of matches at UHY Court at Alumni Recreation Center on the campus of Siena College in Loudonville, New York. The winner will receive an automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA Championship.

At 1:00 p.m., second-seeded Siena plays host to third-seeded Canisius. The second semifinal, slated to begin at 4:00 p.m., will feature top-seeded Fairfield taking on the fourth-seeded Gaels of Iona. Both semifinal contests can be seen live on www.maacsports.com.

The championship match will be played Monday, November 24 at 7:00 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPNU.

Siena, the three-time defending MAAC champions, finished the regular season 18-12 overall and 15-3 in conference play. The 2007 MAAC Offensive Player of the Year Burgandy McCurty leads the Saints, who have topped Fairfield three games to two in three consecutive championship matches. Canisius enters the tournament after going 17-10 overall and 12-6 in the league looking for its first MAAC Volleyball Championship. The Golden Griffins were one of only two MAAC squads to get the best of the Saints, winning, 3-2, in both teams’ conference opener. Siena won the other meeting, 3-1.

Top-seeded Fairfield arrives in Loudonville with a 19-12 overall record and a 16-2 mark in the league. The Stags only conference losses came in road matches against semifinal opponent Iona and fellow championship contender Canisius. They have been in the Championship Match a league leading 11 times. Iona finished the season 19-11 overall and 11-7 in the MAAC. The Gaels feature eight-time Defensive Player of the Week Allison Nieters, who ranks third in the country with 5.96 digs per set. The two teams split their head-to-head meetings this season, with each school winning on its home court.