NEWARK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson volleyball team claimed the first set but NJIT rallied for a 3-1 victory (23-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-20) at the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center on Tuesday night.
 
The Knights (3-11) were led by sophomore Erika Sullivan's 10 kills, while senior Taylor Wyckoff logged nine and sophomore Annabel Reyes tallied eight in the loss. Reyes' eight tallies came with a team-best .273 attack percentage as the sophomore middle hitter committed just two attack errors on the night.
 
Freshman setter McKenna Setterlund racked up a double-double with 31 assists to go along with 16 digs and three service aces.
 
Trailing 17-14 in the first set, the Knights fought back with six straight points to capture a 20-17 edge. Reyes capped the scoring spurt with back-to-back kills, while freshman Allison Koester served five points including a service ace.
 
The Knights were able to hold off a late surge by the Highlanders (6-7) and preserve the two-point victory.
 
Unfortunately, the match turned in favor of the Highlanders from that point forward. Knotted at 12-all in the second set, the home team went to work aided by a pair of Liz Benson aces to take a 17-12 lead.
 
Kills by Reyes and Wyckoff helped the Knights claw to within one 18-17 but the Highlanders stopped the bleeding and evened the match with the 25-20 win.
 
Madi Busler carried the Highlanders to an 11-2 lead in the third set by hammering five kills over that span. The sophomore outside hitter amassed a match-high 19 kills in the victory.  With the early cushion, the Highlanders maintained a safe distance en route to the eight-point, third-set win.
 
The fourth and decisive set saw the Knights fight back from a 20-15 deficit to within one point thanks to two kills by Wyckoff and one apiece from Reyes and Koester.
 
Clinging to a one-point lead, the Highlanders closed the match by scoring the final four points including a match-ending service ace by Adriana Nieto.
 
In the victory, Benson dished out 48 assists for the Highlanders, while Tess Albyn joined Busler in double-figure kills with 17. In addition to her 19-kill effort, Busler added 13 digs to her ledger.
 
The Knights will begin Northeast Conference play their next time out when they travel to Fairfield, Connecticut this Friday, September 22 to take on Sacred Heart at 6:00 p.m.