Box Score
SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- After dropping the first two sets in Sunday's match at Bryant, the Fairleigh Dickinson women's volleyball team rallied to win the next two but came up just short of completing the comeback, suffering a 3-2 loss in Northeast Conference action.

The Knights see their record fall to 7-11 and 3-2 in the NEC, while the Bulldogs improve to 7-14 and 1-4 in the conference.  FDU has now gone 1-6 in away matches this season.

On Sept. 9, FDU beat Bryant by a 3-1 score at the Kaiser Classic, but Sunday's match went to the Bulldogs with set scores of 25-20, 25-16, 13-25, 26-28, 17-15.

Bryant picked up the first set behind a 6-0 run that turned its 17-16 deficit into a 22-17 lead. FDU cut into the Bulldogs' lead with three points on Bryant errors, but it was not enough as the home side won the set, 25-20.

The Bulldogs proved to be too much with their .355 hitting percentage with 15 kills to just four errors in the second. Bryant took a 4-3 advantage and never looked back en route to a 25-16 victory for a 2-0 lead in the match.

With their backs against the wall, the Knights responded with their best offensive set in the third with a .300 hitting percentage with 11 kills and two errors on 30 attempts. FDU was dominant in the set, leading by as many as 13 points with an 18-5 lead on an ace from sophomore Deborah Hong (Rutherford, N.J./Rutherford). The Knights finished the match with nine aces including four from redshirt junior Violeta Slabakova (Shelby Township, Mich./Utica) and three courtesy of junior Taylor Roland-Buohl (Lancaster, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg).

Later in the third with the score at 19-11 in favor of FDU, the Knights kept their hopes alive with six of the final eight points for a 25-13 set win to force a fourth set.

The fourth set was back and forth with seven ties and three lead changes. FDU led by as many as five points at 10-5, but the Bulldogs kept the score close and eventually earned a tie at 13-13. FDU had set point at 24-20. An FDU service error followed by three attack errors allowed Bryant to level the score at 24-24.

The two teams traded points until it was again tied at 26-26. Kills by Wheeler and Collis gave the knights a hard-fought 28-26 win to force a decisive fifth set. Wheeler finished with a match-best 19 kills along with a team-high 17 digs for her 11th double-double of the year. Collis turned in a solid performance of her own with 14 kills and four solo blocks.

The fifth set proved to be even tighter with nine ties and four lead changes. The Knights looked like they would escape with a victory when they took a 13-9 lead on a kill by Wheeler. Four straight Bryant points evened the score, however. Attack errors by both teams led to a 15-15 tie before a Bryant kill and an FDU attack error gave the Bulldogs a 17-15 win.

Claire Van Dyk led the Bulldogs' offense with 14 kills, while Alexandria Clyburn chipped in with 12. Bryant's Jordon Thornlow played a complete match with 25 assists and 10 digs.

For FDU, Slabakova racked up 16 kills and three block assists and freshman Allison Butler (Plano, Texas/Plano) dished out 44 assists.

On Wednesday, Oct. 10, the Knights will be back on the road with a 6 p.m. match in Brooklyn, N.Y. against NEC opponent LIU Brooklyn.