The Fairleigh Dickinson University women's volleyball team swept their competition at the FDU Tri-match, Saturday, Oct. 7 at the Rothman Center in Hackensack, NJ, collecting back-to-back wins. The Knights (12-7) kicked off the day with a 3-1 win against the New Jersey Institute of Technology and put away Wagner College, 3-0, in the afternoon's finale. The Highlanders (5-16) topped the Seahawks (5-13) to grab second-place.
FDU dropped the first game to NJIT, 30-28, but rebounded to post three-straight wins: 30-23, 30-23, and 30-25.
The Knights' middle blocker tandem of junior Rebecca Tenney (/Tabb) (Yorktown, VA/Tabb) and sophomore Lauren Boothby (/Voorhees) (Glen Gardner, NJ/Voorhees) paced the offense with 18 and 17 kills, en route to notching hitting percentages of .405 and .500. Sophomore outside hitter Megan Philbrick (/Elizabeth Seton) (Seabrook, MD/Elizabeth Seton) chipped in 10 kills.
Sophomore setter Karolina Kowalski (/North Arlington) (North Arlington, NJ) provided the squad 26 assists, while junior setter Ruth Levy (/Cary) (Cary, NC) added 23 assists.
Junior libero Lauren Lombardo (/Laurel) (New Castle, PA/Laurel) had a team-high 16 digs. Freshman outside hitter Ali Philbrick (/Elizabeth Seton) (Latham, MD/Elizabeth Seton) tallied 13 digs and sophomore outside hitter Jennifer Brugger (/Centreville) (Centreville, VA/Clifton) contributed 10 digs.
“Today was a great team effort to put us back on the right track entering conference play,” Head Coach Stacey Recanati said. “It's always great to play at home with supportive fans.”
Three NJIT players recorded double-doubles in the losing effort, led by outside hitter Kubra Tanrikulu's (Manahawkin, NJ/Southern Regional) 17 kills and 11 digs. Outside hitter Agnieszka Pregowska (Warsaw, Poland/Bridgewater-Raritan) had 13 kills and 14 digs, while Kasha Hornstein (Duluth, MN/Marshall School) racked up 14 kills and 21 digs.
Against Wagner, Levy registered a double-double with 15 assists and 11 digs. Ali Philbrick (/Elizabeth Seton) netted a .421 hitting percentage, good for nine kills.
The Knights rattled off a trio of wins against their Northeast Conference foe: 30-25, 30-23, and 30-19.
Lombardo led the team in digs for a second occasion with 16. Kowalski put forth a team-best 18 assists.
Setter Lydia Emnott (Neenah, WI/Neenah) notched 17 assists for the Seahawks.
In other action, the Highlanders knocked off Wagner, 30-22, 30-26, and 30-20.
Hornstein led NJIT, tallying 10 kills and 14 digs.
Outside hitter Sirena LaBurn (Port niches, TX/Port Neches) countered for the Seahawks with a double-double performance of 11 kills and 12 digs.
The Knights begin their NEC slate at 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 11 in Staten Island, NY versus Wagner.
