The Fairleigh Dickinson University women's volleyball team came back from an 0-2 deficit to Saint Francis PA to tie up the match, but fell in the tiebreaker at the Rothman Center on Sunday afternoon. The Knights fall to 14-13 overall with a 2-4 mark in the Northeast Conference, while the Red Flash improve to 10-18 overall, with a 4-2 record in league action.
The Red Flash began the match taking a 7-3 lead in game one. But FDU scored three-straight points to make it only a one-point deficit. The Knights shifted momentum, taking the lead and making it 10-8 on a service ace. Saint Francis won the game by five points, 25-20.
In game two the Red Flash took a 3-0 lead and then extended it to 14-9. The Knights were able to cut the advantage down to 15-13, but Saint Francis went on to win, 25-20, and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
In the third game, the two teams were tied, but Sarah Berkland (Newton, MA/Newton North)'s kill gave the Knights a 10-9 edge. The score was tied again at 20-20, but FDU surged ahead to take game three, 25-22.
The Red Flash tried to close out the match in game four, but it was a game of 13 ties and lengthy volleys. The Knights took a 5-3 lead in the fourth game, but Saint Francis tied it up, 8-8. At 17-17, FDU was able to score the next two points and that was the final tie of the game. Ali Philbrick (/Elizabeth Seton)'s (Lanham, MD) kill gave FDU a 20-18 lead and the Knights went on to win the game, 25-20 on a kill by Karolina Kowalski (/North Arlington) (North Arlington, NJ).
With the match tied, 2-2, the tie-breaker was a battle with 15 ties. The Red Flash finally pulled ahead, winning the fifth game 20-18.
Megan Philbrick (/Elizabeth Seton) (Seabrook, MD) and Lauren Boothby (/Voorhees) (Glen Gardner, NJ) led the Knights with 13 kills apiece. Ali Philbrick (/Elizabeth Seton) added 12 kills and 15 digs. Boothby had a team-high 21 digs, while Kowalski added 11 digs and recorded 44 assists. Kelsey Semler (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic) (Allentown, PA) notched 19 digs.
The Knights are back in action at New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, NJ on Nov. 12 at 7:00 p.m.
