The Fairleigh Dickinson women's volleyball team defeated conference foe, Quinnipiac 3-2, Sunday afternoon at the Stratis Arena in the Rothman Center. The Knights played a hard fought set but were outscored 25-23 in the first game before defeating the Bobcats in game two, 26-24. Quinnipiac took game three, 25-22. The teams played a close game again in set four but FDU was able to prevail with a 28-26 win, sending the match to set five. The deciding set saw a score of 11-15 with the Knights taking the match. Quinnipiac falls to 2-14 (0-3 NEC) while the Knights improve to 7-12 (2-2 NEC).
Defensively, the Knights played strong, with four players recording double-digit digs. Sophomore Meaghan Wheeler (Chatsworth, CA/Chaminade College Prep) (Chatsworth, CA) had 16, senior Amanda Alayon (West Haverstraw, NY/North Rockland) (West Haverstraw, NY) had 12, junior Sarah Willey (Abingdon, MD/Bel Air) (Abingdon, MD) recorded 11 and junior Kelsey Semler (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic) (Allentown, PA) documented 39 to lead the Knights to 100 team digs, a season high.
Wheeler led the Knights with her fifth-straight double-double to advance her to nine on the season. She recorded 17 kills and 16 digs.
Sophomore Violeta Slabakova (Shelby Township, Mich./Utica) (Shelby Township, MI) smashed nine kills while senior Erin Roudebush (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) (Westfield, NJ) had ten. Senior Sarah Berkland (Newton, MA/Newton North) (Newton, MA) had 11 kills and seven block-assists.
Willey had an impressive game, documenting 46 assists. She led the team with an attack percentage of .250. Combining her 11 digs, Willey also recorded her seventh double-double of the season.
Senior Sarah Berkland (Newton, MA/Newton North) (Newton, MA) added 13 kills and turned in a .407 attack percentage. She also had five block-assists, along with junior Meghan Alger (Cheltenham, MD), to lead the Knights. Sophomore Violeta Slabakova (Shelby Township, Mich./Utica) (Shelby Township, MI) also smashed nine kills.
Fairleigh Dickinson returns to action on Wednesday as they travel to St. Francis (NY) to take on the Terriers. The match is set to begin at 7:00 pm.
