HACKENSACK, N.J. – With wins in their last two outings, the Fairleigh Dickinson volleyball team will look to continue the momentum at the Friar Classic hosted by Providence College on Saturday, September 9.
 
In the 13^th annual classic, the Knights (3-5) will square off against the Rider Broncs (2-4) at 9:00 a.m. before facing the host Friars (6-0) at 1:00 p.m.
 
WEDNESDAY'S COMEBACK
In Wednesday's home opener against Quinnipiac, the Knights were two points away from a straight-set defeat but turned the tables and rallied to claim the frame 27-25 and ultimately the match 3-2 (18-25, 23-25, 27-25, 25-23, 15-10). 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 who thrilled their home crowd by taking the fourth and fifth sets in succession.
 
FRESHMEN FLYING
At the forefront of the effort on Wednesday night, were freshmen Magdalena Maksimovic 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. The duo is off to a great start this season as Makismovic leads the Knights with 59 kills and Setterlund ranks third in the Northeast Conference (NEC) with 219 assists.
 
SCOUTING RIDER
The Broncs are off to a 2-4 start with wins against the NEC's Sacred Heart and St. Francis Brooklyn. They'll be looking to remain unbeaten against the conference when they face the Knights in the first of two meetings between the teams this season. Most recently, the Broncs suffered a pair of losses at Fordham's Rose Hill Classic last weekend. The team dropped both matches 3-1 to Binghamton and the host Rams over the Labor Day weekend. This year's squad is led by senior Jennifer Borio and junior Hailey Riede, who have each tallied 49 kills on the campaign. Senior setter Veronica Koval runs the offense and has dished out 150 assists this season. The Broncs hold a 16-9 lead in the all-time series with the Knights.
 
SCOUTING PROVIDENCE
The Friars have started the season with a 6-0 record after sweeping the Boston College Tournament on Aug. 25-26 and the Hatter Classic on Sept. 1-2. This is the Friars' hottest start since they began the season 8-0 in 1994.  The Friars enter the 13^th Annual Friar Classic having won 18 of 22 sets this season. Junior Allison Impellizeri was named the MVP of both the Boston College Tournament as well as the Hatter Classic.  The Friars' attack is currently being led by Addison Root who has totaled 70 kills (3.18 k/s) this season. Impellizeri is second on the team with 63 kills (2.86), while sophomore Jenae Alderson is third with 59 kills (2.68 k/s). Freshman Allison Barber has played the role of setter thus far in the season and has tallied 241 assists (10.9 a/s). The Knights hold a 6-4 lead in the all-time series between the two teams.

UP NEXT
The Knights will face off against Rider again this Tuesday, September 12 at the Rothman Center in the final meeting between the squads. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m.