FULLERTON, Calif. – The Fairleigh Dickinson volleyball team opened its season at the Titan Tournament hosted by Cal State Fullerton on Saturday afternoon and dropped both of its matches.
 
The Knights fell in their first match in straight sets to the host Titans (25-17, 25-17, 25-20) before also dropping their night contest to UC Riverside 3-0 (25-12, 25-17, 25-22).
 
Cal State Fullerton 3, Fairleigh Dickinson 0
(25-17, 25-17, 25-20)

In their first match of the day, the Knights faced off against the host Titans. Senior Taylor Wyckoff paced the FDU attack with seven kills, while adding seven digs and two total blocks to her ledger in the loss.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Erika Sullivan also tallied seven kills, while freshman Nataliya Rybakova finished with six kills and two service aces in her collegiate debut.
 
Also making her college debut, freshman setter McKenna Setterlund dished out a team-best 24 assists and tallied one block.
 
Madeline Schneider and Meagan Carlson led an efficient Titans' attack by hammering 14 and 11 kills, respectively. The duo helped the home team achieve a .362 overall attack percentage including a .419 clip in the first set compared to the Knights' .175 match percentage.
 
In the first frame, the Knights fell behind 4-1 before rallying to claw within one, 8-7, after an Annabel Reyes kill. Reyes finished with four kills and a pair of digs in the 2017 season opener.
 
Leading 8-7, the Titans rattled off five of the next six points to gain some breathing room en route to the victory.
 
From the outset, the second set belonged to the Titans as they leapt out to a 10-2 lead by Summer Kerins' three kills. Kerins finished with seven kills on the afternoon.
 
The third set saw the Knights post their highest attack percentage of the match at .200, and stay within two points until late, but it wasn't enough as the Titans were extremely efficient, committing just one attack error in the decisive frame.
 
With an 18-16 edge, the Titans pulled away thanks to a 5-1 spree highlighted by Tyler Fezzey's back-to-back kills, which forced a Knights timeout.
 
After the break, the Knights briefly fought back with a pair of kills by Sullivan and freshman Magdalena Maksimovic, however, the Titans were able to hold on and secure the five-point victory.
 
UC Riverside 3, Fairleigh Dickinson 0
(25-12, 25-17, 25-22)

In their second match of the day, the Knights jumped out to a quick 3-1 lead thanks to a pair of blocks from Wyckoff and Maksimovic and a putaway by Rybakova.

With the game knotted at 8-8, the Highlanders scored ten straight points break the set wide open en route to the comfortable victory. Fabiana Rosas served up the hot stretch for UCR as they took the 1-0 lead.
 
The momentum continued on into the second set as the Highlanders captured a 12-4 lead. Brooke Callahan spurred the team and finished with a match-high 14 kills to go along with eight digs.
 
Three Highlanders recorded double-digit kills led by Callahan's 14, while Meg Graham had 12 kills and five blocks and Kaiulani Ahuna finished with 10 kills.
 
The third set was the most highly contested as the Knights battled all the way through to the final whistle. The two teams traded points throughout the set until the Highlanders opened up a 17-13 advantage.
 
Trailing 23-18, the Knights fought valiantly to catch up and clawed to within one, 23-22, after back-to-back aces by the freshman Makismovic. However, the Highlanders recorded the final two points of the set to close out the match.
 
In the loss, Wyckoff paced the Knights with another seven-kill performance, while adding 10 digs to her ledger. Maksimovic tallied six kills and four service aces, while Setterlund handed out 24 assists for the second straight match.
 
The Knights close out the Titan Tournament tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. (EST) when they take on Drake University, who picked up a 3-1 victory over the Knights' Northeast Conference foe, Bryant on Friday afternoon.