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HACKENSACK N.J.  --  The Fairleigh Dickinson women's volleyball team will start the 2014 season Friday at the Hawk's Holiday Hullabaloo, hosted by UMES, at the William P. Hytche Athletic Center in Princess Anne, Md. Over the course of Friday and Saturday, the Knights will go head-to-head with UMBC, UMES, Weber State and South Dakota State.
 
On Friday, the Knights will play UMBC at 2 p.m., before taking on the home team UMES at 6 p.m. On Saturday FDU is scheduled to take on Weber State at 10 a.m. and South Dakota State at 4 p.m. The Hawk's Holiday Hullabaloo will be the first time in program history that the Knights will be facing off against UMBC, Weber State and South Dakota State.
 
FDU is coming off of a 5-24 season and will be returning seven players while bringing in six freshmen. Head Coach Stacey Recanati will be looking for her captain, junior setter Allison Butler (Plano, Texas/Plano), to step up and lead a very young squad. In 2012, the Texas native finished the season fifth on the single-season assist leader board for the Knights with a total of 959 assists, and her 702 assists last season placed her seventh on the all-time career list with 1,661.
 
UMBC will look to build on a strong season last year after going 19-12 while making it to the America East championship. The Retrievers are bringing back two of their top three kill leaders from last year in senior Hannah Schmidt (302) and junior Krystal Mlemchukwu (277).
 
UMES will be looking to start off the season opposite of how it finished 2013 after going 1-9 while losing the last seven matches of the season. The Hawks bring back their attack leader in senior Ashley Smith (174 kills), their leader in assists in sophomore Sonia Rosales (509), and their top blocker in sophomore Hailey Robinson (54).
 
In Saturday's first match, the Knights will be facing Weber State. The Wildcats went 7-27 in 2013 and were only 1-5 at neutral sites. The last match of the weekend will come against South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits were 6-22 last season, which was good enough for them to finish third in the Summit League.
 
The Knights return to action Friday, Sept. 5 at the Rose Hill Classic, hosted by Fordham. FDU's first match will be at 1 p.m. against the host Rams.