The Fairleigh Dickinson University women's volleyball team was upended by the New Jersey Institute of Technology, 3-0, Wednesday, Sept. 24 in Hackensack, NJ.  Despite a 19 assist, 10 dig effort by senior setter Karolina Kowalski (/North Arlington) (North Arlington, NJ), the Knights slipped to 8-6 on the season.

Senior middle hitter Lauren Boothby (/Voorhees) (Glen Gardner, NJ) also went for a double-double, registering 14 digs and 10 kills.  In all, five student-athletes logged double-figure kill totals, paced by freshman libero Kelsey Semler (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic) (Allentown, PA).

FDU held a 12-2 advantage early on, but the Highlanders (6-7) battled back for a 25-21 decision in the first set.  NJIT used that momentum to seal the match via 25-17 and 25-13 counts.  After knotting game two, 10-10, a 6-1 run, punctuated by a 6-0 surge to close, gave the Highlanders a stronghold.  A .293 attack percentage by the visitors in the third set proved the deciding factor.

Freshman middle hitter Meghan Alger (Cheltenham, MD/Bishop McNamara) (Cheltenham, MD) notched a team-best .385 attack percentage, as well as three service aces.  Junior outside hitter Ali Philbrick (/Elizabeth Seton) (Lanham, MD) posted 10 digs, with freshman setter Sarah Willey (Abingdon, MD/Bel Air) (Abingdon, MD) contributing 11 digs.

Highlanders' junior setter Erica Schultz (Wildomar, CA) recorded a match-high 29 assists, as NJIT collected 35 kills in all.  Junior outside hitter Sabrina Baby's (Florianopolis, Brazil) 22 digs paced her squad, with freshman setter Audrey Snell (Bogota, NJ) adding 10 digs.  Meanwhile, freshman outside hitter Renata Pandolfo (Joinville, Brazil) quietly netted a double-double of 12 digs and 10 kills (.286 attack percentage).

The Knights travel to Dover, DE this weekend to play a trio of matches at the Delaware State University Tournament: DSU (9/26, 1:00 p.m.); non-conference versus Wagner College (9/25, 5:00 p.m.); and Norfolk State University (9/27, 10:00 a.m.).