Saint Francis PA Live Stats
Robert Morris Live Stats
Robert Morris Live Video
 
HACKENSACK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson women's volleyball team will make its final regular season road trip with Northeast Conference matches on Saturday, Nov. 3, in Loretto, Pa. against Saint Francis PA at 1 p.m. followed by Sunday's 1 p.m. match against Robert Morris in Moon Township, Pa.
 
FDU (8-18, 4-9 NEC) is sixth in the NEC, while Saint Francis PA (11-14, 7-5 NEC) enters the weekend in fourth and Robert Morris (14-14, 10-2 NEC) is sitting in second place.
 
This weekend the Knights are trying to snap a four-match skid which includes losses to Central Connecticut State, LIU Brooklyn, St. Francis NY and Sacred Heart. Since beginning conference play with a 3-1 record in September, the Knights went 1-8 during the month of October.
 
For the Knights, the offensive combination of freshman setter Allison Butler (Plano, Texas/Plano) to senior outside hitter Meaghan Wheeler (Chatsworth, CA/Chaminade College Prep) has worked all season. Wheeler, from Chatsworth, Calif., is fourth in the nation with 460 kills, ninth in kills per set with 4.60 and ninth in points per set with 5.13. Her 460 kills lead the NEC and is the third most in single-season history. She is 53 shy of Lauren Bootby's second-place mark of 513 kills from 2008 when she earned NEC Player of the Year. Wheeler is chasing her own record of 528, which she set last season as a junior.
 
Butler is also cementing her place in FDU history with 860 assists so far this season. She is 69 assists shy of tying 2012 graduate Sarah Willey (Abingdon, MD/Bel Air) for fifth in single-season assists. Willey dished out 929 during her senior season in 2011.
 
Looking ahead to this weekend's opponents, in FDU's Oct. 13 match against Saint Francis PA at Stratis Arena, the Knights committed just 13 attack errors, but the offensive firepower for the Red Flash proved to be too much as Saint Francis played its way to a 3-0 win. The match was closer than the score would indicate, however, as FDU dropped sets by scores of 25-23, 25-23 and 25-17.
 
The Red Flash won five matches in a row in early October, but is 1-2 in their last three. Senior Elizabeth Williams leads the team with 206 kills and a .286 hitting percentage, which is the seventh best mark in the conference.
 
In Sunday's match, FDU will try to navigate past RMU's strong defense which is second in the NEC with 14.45 digs per set and third in blocks at 1.96 per set. The Colonials have won five of their last six matches and are 8-2 in home matches this season.
 
In their Oct. 14 match, FDU won the first set before RMU settled in to win the final three for a 3-1 victory.
 
On Wednesday, Nov. 7, the Knights will host Manhattan in a rare late-season nonconference tilt at Stratis Arena in Hackensack, N.J. The first serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.