After 11-straight matches away from Stratis Arena to begin the year, the Fairleigh Dickinson women's volleyball team will get a chance to play in front of a home crowd for the first time this season when the Knights take on the Rider Broncs on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

The last time the Knights (8-3) played the Broncs (3-10) was Sept. 2 with the Knights earning a 3-1 victory in the opening match of the Lafayette Tournament in Easton, PA. 

Since the early September showdown, the Knights have won six of seven matches, while Rider has gone 2-7 over that stretch.

In the Sept. 2 match, junior Meaghan Wheeler (Chatsworth, CA/Chaminade College Prep) recorded a match-high 24 kills, and senior Sarah Willey (Abingdon, MD/Bel Air) dished out a season-best 42 assists. Fellow senior Kelsey Semler (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic) had her first match with 30 or more digs with 31. For the Broncs, Kayla Wong (12 kills) and Ashlee Amatulli (32 assists) paced the offense.

The Knights' last time out, a 3-2 win in Newark, NJ over the NJIT Highlanders, Wheeler, Willey and Semler led the squad again. Wheeler had 27 kills and 14 digs, Willey dished out 33 assists and Semler dug out 22 digs.

Wheeler currently leads the NEC and ranks sixth in Division I with 4.93 kills per set. Semler sits second in the conference with 4.86 digs per set and Willey is fifth in assists with 7.60 per set.

In Rider's last two matches over the weekend, the Broncs lost 3-1 decisions to Marist and Siena at home. 

The Broncs are 2-7 this season away from their home arena in Lawrenceville, NJ. On the flipside, the Knights finished with a 4-6 record at Stratis Arena in 2010.

After Wednesday's contest, the Knights face a road test in Fairfield, CT for their NEC opener versus Sacred Heart on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 6 p.m.