BROOKLYN, N.Y.  – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's volleyball team dropped its Northeast Conference opener to LIU Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon, 3-0.
 
The loss drops the Knights to 0-16 on the season and 0-1 in conference play. The Blackbirds improve to 4-10 overall and 1-0 in the NEC.
 
Fairleigh Dickinson lost the first set 25-20, the second set 25-19 and the third set 25-20.
 
The Knights took a brief 2-0 lead to start out the first set but the Blackbirds quickly tied things up and continued to build a lead until it was eventually 12-5. An Erika Sullivan (Elk Grove, Calif./Pleasant Grove) kill and an LIU Brooklyn attack error cut the Blackbirds' lead to 16-13. LIU Brooklyn then went on a 7-1 run to build up a 23-14 lead. The Knights benefitted from two Blackbirds' errors, cutting their lead to 24-20 but LIU Brooklyn closed it out with a kill from Filippa Hansson.
 
The Blackbirds scored seven points in a row early in the second set to take an 8-2 lead over the Knights. They continued the dominance, bringing their lead to 13-4. Fairleigh Dickinson scored four in a row to cut the score to 14-10. LIU Brooklyn went on a 6-0 run to take a 20-10 lead. The Knights gained some momentum and scored five in a row, cutting the deficit to just five points. LIU Brooklyn's Amanda Hubbard closed things out for the Blackbirds with a kill.
 
The Knights maintained a lead in the third set until the Blackbirds finally tied things up, 7-7. An Emma Liller (Germantown, Md./Northwest ) gave the Knights a 10-8 lead but LIU Brooklyn scored four straight to take a 12-10 lead. The Knights came back to tie the set at 15 and again at 17. LIU Brooklyn added five in a row to take a 22-17 lead. The Knights came within two points following kills from Liller and Annabel Reyes (Teaneck, N.J./Immaculate Heart Academy). Alex Larsen recorded three straight kills to close out the set and the match for the Blackbirds.
 
The Knights hit .160 compared to LIU Brooklyn's .250.
 
Caroline Laton (Kinnelon, N.J./Kinnelon) led the Knights with 11 kills. Kirstin Trabert (Corona, Calif./Norco) had 26 assists and Carly O'Sullivan (Bogota, N.J./Bogota) chipped in 15 digs.
 
Fairleigh Dickinson is back in action tomorrow at St. Francis Brooklyn for another NEC contest, slated to start at 1 p.m.