HACKENSACK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson women's volleyball team enters a crucial weekend beginning with a road match at St. Francis NY in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y. on Saturday, Oct. 27, at 1 p.m. followed by a home match at Stratis Arena against Sacred Heart on Sunday, Oct. 28, at 3 p.m.
 
FDU (8-17, 4-7 NEC) faced St. Francis NY (3-24, 1-9 NEC) and Sacred Heart (7-18, 5-6 NEC) in the same weekend in September, as the Knights swept the Terriers 3-0 on Sept. 29, then took down the 2011 Northeast Conference champion Pioneers on Sept. 30 by a 3-1 score.
 
Since then, the Knights have hit a dry spell with losses in six of their last seven matches. Their last time out on Oct. 24, FDU showed fight by becoming just the second NEC team to take a set from first place LIU Brooklyn in a 3-1 home loss. In the match, freshman Allison Butler (Plano, Texas/Plano) moved up to eighth in the FDU record book for single-season assists with 769 on the year.
 
Senior Meaghan Wheeler (Chatsworth, CA/Chaminade College Prep) also had a solid night with a match-high 22 kills for the Knights. The Chatsworth, Calif. native currently lead the NEC with 4.70 kills per set and 432 kills on the year.
 
FDU is set to begin the weekend against St. Francis NY, a team that has lost three in a row and seven of its last eight. Last weekend, the Terriers went on the road and suffered a 3-0 loss at Central Connecticut State followed by a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Sacred Heart.
 
The Terriers' top offensive threat is Slavica Stefanovic, who leads her team in kills with 182 and service aces with 24. The season, SFNY has split the setting duty between Kamalei Clifton (349 assists) and Kelly O'Halloran (324 assists).
 
On Sunday, FDU will host Sacred Heart, who the Knights beat earlier this season for the first time since 2008. The Pioneers enter the weekend after a 3-1 win over St. Francis NY preceded by three straight losses to NEC opponents.
 
SHU senior Elise Sage is currently third in the NEC with a .318 hitting percentage, while sophomore Alissa Young leads the team with 244 kills.  
 
After this weekend, FDU will make its final regular season road trip of the season with a Saturday, Nov. 3, match against Saint Francis PA at 1 p.m. in Loretto, Pa. and another 1 p.m. start time on Sunday, Nov. 4, against Robert Morris in Moon Township, Pa.