HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's volleyball team battled with the Pioneers of Sacred Heart but ultimately lost 3-1.
 
The Knights took the first set 25-17 before falling in the final three sets 25-16, 25-22 and 25-20.
 
Fairleigh Dickinson's defense was in full effect against the Pioneers, recording 16 blocks.
 
The Pioneers came out to score the first point of the first setbut the Knights responded with a kill from Carly O'Sullivan (Bogota, N.J./Bogota). The first half of the first set was close and tied multiple times. The Knights finally opened up a gap after benefiting from three Sacred Heart attacking errors as well as a Savanna Wray (Peoria, Ariz./Sunrise Mountain) ace. An Erika Sullivan (Elk Grove, Calif./Pleasant Grove) kill put the Knights up 22-14 and it would be a Sullivan kill that ended the set.
 
Sacred Heart came out in the second set firing on all cyclinders to take a 8-0 lead. The ever-relentless Knights chipped away and eventually brought it to a four-point game on a block from Caroline Laton (Kinnelon, N.J./Kinnelon). The Pioneers continued to put the pressure on the Knights and ended things with a Maddie Losure kill.
 
The Knights came out to score the first three points of the third set. The lead eventually grew to 7-2 before Sacred Heart called a timeout to regroup. The Pioneers eventually tied things up at eight but the Knights did not let up and took a 17-13 lead on a Carly O'Sullivan (Bogota, N.J./Bogota) and Laton block. The Pioneers tied the game again at 17, 18, 20 and 21 before taking a lead. After Abigail Strebig (Brookfield, Wisc./Brookfield Central) tied the game up with a kill, the Pioneers scored the final three points of the set to end it.
 
In the fourth and final set, the Pioneers outscored the Knights 8-1 to start things out. The Knights brought it within two points, 9-7, which forced Sacred Heart to call for a timeout. Fairleigh Dickinson came close to tying things up, bringing the score within one point several times. The Knights closed the gap to 23-20 before the Pioneers ended it with a kill from Sarah Krufka.
 
Sullivan led the Knights with 10 kills while O'Sullivan had eight and Laton had seven. Laton also had a team-high eight blocks. Josephine Gallagher (Aurora, Ill./Rosary) talled 18 assists while Wray recorded 25 digs.
 
The Knights are back in action on Wednesday night at home against NJIT at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed live on NEC Front Row.