HACKENSACK, N.J. – Two points away from a straight-set defeat, the Fairleigh Dickinson volleyball team turned the tables and rallied to overtake Quinnipiac 3-2 (18-25, 23-25, 27-25, 25-23, 15-10) in their 2017 home opener at the Rothman Center on Wednesday night.
 
Down 2-0 in the match, the Knights trailed 23-17 in the third set before willing their way to a 27-25 comeback victory. From that point on, the momentum favored the Knights (3-5) who thrilled their home crowd by taking the fourth and fifth sets in succession.
 
At the forefront of the effort were freshmen Magdalena Makismovic and McKenna Setterlund. Makismovic pounded a team-high 13 kills, while Setterlund navigated the comeback with her precision sets en route to a new career-high 46 assists.
 
During the crucial third-set comeback, sophomore Erika Sullivan provided two kills, including the set-tying point. The sophomore outside hitter matched her career-best with 12 kills on the night, while senior Taylor Wyckoff also added 12 kills including a vital point during the aforementioned comeback.
 
Four Bobcats registered double-digit kills in the loss, led by Jenn Coffey's 17 and Elizabeth Kloos' 15 tallies.
 
The Bobcats (0-9) jumped out to the two-set lead thanks to their efficient play and some excellent serving by junior outside hitter Kat Miller, who finished with four aces in the match to go along with her 12 kills.
 
Miller's serves had the Knights off-balance in the early going as the Bobcats appeared destined to net their first win of the season. But the Knights had other plans beginning with their rally in the third set.
 
In the turning point third set, the Bobcats briefly regained the lead, 24-23 after a kill by Gabby Horman. Wyckoff answered with a kill and two points later the teams were deadlocked at 25-25.
 
Wyckoff again put the Knights in front – this time for good – as an attack error resulted in the 27-25 win.
 
In the fourth set, the Knights raced out to a 6-2 lead before the Bobcats moved in front with an 8-3 run to take a 10-9 edge.
 
Later in the set, the Bobcats erased another deficit as they fought back from 19-15 to tie the match thanks to two kills apice from Coffey and Natalie Alechko. Alechko racked up 13 kills and 16 digs in the loss.
 
Leading 24-20, the Bobcats nearly clawed back again as they pulled to within one before a service error gave the Knights the two-point victory and forced the decisive fifth set.
 
Trailing 6-3 in the final frame, back-to-back kills by Makismovic and Annabel Reyes brought the Knights back. 
 
Tied at 8-8, Wyckoff and Setterlund teamed up to force an attack error, which gave the Knights their first lead of the decisive set.
 
Then with a 12-10 lead, the Knights closed out the victory by scoring the final three points, highlighted by back-to-back kills from Sullivan and Wyckoff.
 
In addition to her double-digit kills, Wyckoff also played stellar defense registering 16 digs, while senior libero Carly O'Sullivan added a match-high 20 digs.
 
The Knights have now won two straight matches as they gear up for this weekend's Friar Classic in Providence, Rhode Island. The team will play twice on Saturday with a morning tilt against the Rider Broncs at 9:00 a.m. followed by a 1:00 p.m. match against the host Providence Friars.