MACON, Ga. – The Fairleigh Dickinson volleyball team battled Towson in all three sets on Saturday morning but the Tigers got the better of the Knights in all three to earn the 3-0 sweep in each team's final game at the Mercer Tournament.
Towson won set one, 25-22, set two, 25-21, and set three, 25-20. The Tigers improve to 11-2 on the season and the Knights fall to 0-14.
The Knights had a balanced offensive attack on Saturday morning. Freshman
Erika Sullivan (Elk Grove, Calif./Pleasant Grove) led the way with eight kills and three block assists.
Taylor Wyckoff (San Diego, Calif./Clairemont) and
Rebecca Sabol (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman) each had six kills. Wyckoff hit a team-best .278.
Kirstin Trabert (Corona, Calif./Norco) dished out 23 assists and added seven digs.
Carly O'Sullivan (Bogota, N.J./Bogota) made the All-Tournament team after averaging 18.6 digs over three matches on Friday and this morning.
Towson took an early 6-2 lead in the opening set. The Knights soon battled back to eventually tie the game at 10 on a kill from
Annabel Reyes (Teaneck, N.J./Immaculate Heart Academy). A kill Wyckoff got the Knights an 11-10 lead. The set would be tied at 13 and 14 before the Tigers pulled ahead for good at 15-14. Fairleigh Dickinson got back within one – 23-22 – late in the set on a kill from Sabol but Towson scored the last two points to get the set win.
The second set was tight from the outset. Neither team led by more than three points until the later stages. Towson took the lead at 14-13 and did not surrender it again. The Knights got it back to 22-20 late in the set after a kill from Sullivan. Towson answered with three-of-four points to take the set.
The Knights led early on in set three but Towson came back to build an 8-5 lead. The lead expanded to 13-7 midway through the set. Fairleigh Dickinson got within four off a Towson error at 19-15. The Tigers would not let them any closer and close out the set and match.
Towson hit .291 in the match compared to Fairleigh Dickinson's .091. Towson also had the lead in blocks, 13-6. Jocelyn Kuilan led the way for Towson with 14 kills on a .333 clip.
Fairleigh Dickinson returns to action on Wednesday, September 21 at Rider for a 7 p.m. start.
