Box Score
The Fairleigh Dickinson women's volleyball team got off to a slow start was not able to recover as the Knights fell, 3-0, to Northeast Conference foe Sacred Heart on Sunday afternoon at Stratis Arena in Hackensack, NJ.
The Knights (15-11, 5-7 NEC) fell for the third time in as many matches, as the Pioneers (19-7, 9-3 NEC) got back on track with their ninth road win of 2011.
In the first set, FDU kept the score tight and cut its deficit to one at 16-15 on one of junior
Meaghan Wheeler (Chatsworth, CA/Chaminade College Prep)'s 11 kills on the day. The Pioneers were able to pick up its offensive pressure and reeled off nine of the next 11 points for a 25-17 set-one win.
Wheeler, who finished with a double-double with 11 kills and 13 digs, moved past Stephanie Schmidt for second in school history with 1,280 career kills. Lauren Boothby holds the program record in the category with 1,506 over her career.
The Pioneers turned up the heat on offense in the second set with a .448 hitting percentage on 15 kills to just two errors. SHU engineered a 6-0 run that extended its lead from 12-11 to 18-11. Sophomore
Taylor Roland-Buohl (Lancaster, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg) had five of her 10 assists in the set, but the Pioneers pulled away with a 25-15 win for a 2-0 advantage.
In the third, the Knights had four-point leads at 10-6 and 12-8, but SHU chipped away to tie the score at 14-14. Down the stretch, the Pioneers proved to be too much, taking a 25-22 win for the straight-set victory.
SHU had three players with 11 kills apiece in Dianis Mercado, Kimmee Roleder and Johanna Ovsenek.
Senior
Meghan Alger (Cheltenham, MD/Bishop McNamara) recorded a match-high four block assists and turned in eight kills for the Knights, while another senior,
Sarah Willey (Abingdon, MD/Bel Air), distributed a team-best 20 assists.
Sunday was the team's designated Dig Pink Event where the team did its part to raise awareness about breast cancer.
The Knights are on the road on Wednesday, Nov. 2, to play St. Francis NY in Brooklyn, NY at 7 p.m.
