HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's volleyball team was swept by LIU Brooklyn for second time this season on Saturday afternoon.
With the loss, the Knights fall to 3-23 overall and 1-7 in the Northeast Conference. The Blackbirds improve to 9-12 on the season and 6-2 in conference play.
The Knights fell 25-20 in the first set before losing the second set 25-19 in the second set. The Blackbirds close things out with a 25-21 win in the third set.
The Knights started out the first set very strong, outscoring the Blackbirds 6-1 in the opening minutes. LIU Brooklyn – last season's runner up in the NEC – slowly started to take control of the set and eventually tied up at 14. A Fairleigh Dickinson attacking error gave the Blackbirds their first lead of the set before
Abigail Strebig (Brookfield, Wisc./Brookfield Central) tied it up. The Blackbirds once again took a lead and held it for the rest of the set, despite the Knights' best effort. A Fairleigh Dickinson kill that fell just outside the endline gave the Blackbirds the first set.
LIU Brooklyn came out firing on all cylinders in set two to score the first four points. The Knights showed resiliency early on by scoring three points in a row to cut the lead to just one point. The Blackbirds continued to battle and built up a 12-7 lead over the Knights. A
Caroline Laton (Kinnelon, N.J./Kinnelon) kill cut the LIU Brooklyn lead, 18-16. The Knights could not sustain the momentum, however, and the Blackbirds closed the second set out on two kills from Alex Lilliquist.
The Knights showed their typical tenacity in set three. The set started out close before the Blackbirds built up a 10-5 lead. The Knights chipped away and eventually tied things up on a Laton service ace. The Blackbirds once again built up a lead, 16-2, but the Knights were able to come back again and tie it up at 16. The game would be tied several more times at 17, 18 and 19. The Blackbirds scored four straight to take a 23-19 lead and held off the Knights two-point rally to win the set and the match.
The Blackbirds hit .211 on the day compared to Fairleigh Dickinson's .104.
Taylor Wyckoff (San Diego, Calif./Clairemont) had a team-leading eight kills and added five digs as well.
Kirstin Trabert (Corona, Calif./Norco) tallied 13 assists and nine digs.
Carly O'Sullivan (Bogota, N.J./Bogota) led the Knights with 16 digs on the day.
The Knights are back in action tomorrow against St. Francis Brooklyn at 1 p.m. The game will be streamed live on NEC Front Row.
