HACKENSACK, N.J. – Freshman outside hitter Nataliya Rybakova registered double-digit kills for the fifth straight outing but the Fairleigh Dickinson volleyball team was swept 3-0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-19) by Sacred Heart at the Rothman Center on Friday night.
 
Rybakova matched her season-high with 13 kills, while fellow freshman McKenna Setterlund handed out 27 assists and added nine digs in the loss.
 
The Pioneers (10-11, 4-4 NEC) were led by redshirt-junior Makayla Dole, who hammered a match-best 15 kills with just two attack errors and tallied 12 digs in the victory.
 
Both teams were extremely efficient in the first set as the Pioneers registered a .405 attack percentage and the Knights .314. A competitive battle saw the Knights erase an early 5-1 deficit and eventually take an 18-15 lead.
 
Following a kill by Rybakova, which gave the Knights a 20-18 edge, the Pioneers tallied seven of the final eight points to take a 1-0 match lead. Dole recorded three of the final four points by the Pioneers.
 
Rybakova and freshman Magdalena Maksimovic each totaled six kills in that opening set combining for just one error in the frame.
 
The second set was all Pioneers as they ran out to a 12-6 lead and never looked back. Five blocks – two by sophomore middle Gianna Scioletti – aided the Pioneers as they held the Knights to six kills and six errors in the frame.
 
The Knights held leads of 8-5 and 14-12 in the final set but a 10-3 run by the Pioneers turned the tables. Four attack errors over that span doomed the Knights as the Pioneers surged past and closed out the win.
 
Maksimovic finished second on the Knights with nine kills on a team-high 33 attacks, while senior libero Carly O'Sullivan led the team with 14 digs. Sophomore middle Abigail Strebig recorded a pair of solo blocks and one block assists in her two sets on the floor as the Knights finished with 14 total blocks as a team.
 
The Northeast Conference's leading setter entering the night, Sacred Heart's Kiki Robinson dished out 40 assists and totaled eight digs in the win.
 
The Knights are back in action next Friday, October 27 when they host Saint Francis U at 5:00 p.m. at the Rothman Center.