HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson volleyball team sets out for its four-match road trip this weekend with a pair of Brooklyn-based Northeast Conference foes this weekend.
 
The Knights (2-19, 0-7 NEC) will square off with the NEC's first-place team, LIU Brooklyn on Friday before facing St. Francis Brooklyn on Saturday.
 
Friday, October 19 – 6:00 p.m.
Fairleigh Dickinson at LIU Brooklyn (10-6, 7-0 NEC)
Watch on NEC Front Row | Live Stats
 
Saturday, October 20 – 4:00 p.m.
Fairleigh Dickinson at St. Francis Brooklyn (5-16, 1-6 NEC)
Watch on NEC Front Row | Live Stats
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Knights are still seeking their first conference win this season after dropping a pair of NEC contests last weekend at home to Robert Morris and Saint Francis U. After falling in straight sets to Robert Morris on Friday, the Knights suffered a 3-0 (25-15, 28-26, 25-18) setback to Saint Francis U at the Rothman Center on Saturday evening. Junior outside Erika Sullivan led the Knights with 11 kills and four digs, while sophomore Magdalena Maksimovic finished with 10 kills and nine digs in the loss.
 
BLOCK THIS
The Knights have continued their stellar defensive work at the net this season and are third in the NEC with 1.98 blocks per set. At the forefront of the effort is freshman Brooke Stevens, who is averaging 0.93 blocks per set. Stevens' block rate is tops amongst first-year NEC players.
 
SCOUTING THE BLACKBIRDS
LIU enters the weekend unbeaten in conference play after rolling cruised to a straight set sweep over St. Francis Brooklyn last Friday (25-16, 25-14, 25-13). Senior Viktoria Fink and junior Kora Schaberl led the team with nine kills each. Libero Natalia Rivera led the game with 20 digs to increase her season average to 5.42 digs per set that ranks top-20 in the nation. LIU has won 15 straight matches against league competition dating back October 21, 2017. That mark currently stands as the ninth longest active conference winning streak in the NCAA. 
 
SCOUTING THE TERRIERS
St. Francis Brooklyn is coming off a straight-set loss at LIU Brooklyn and has dropped six-straight matches since defeating the Knights at the Rothman Center back on September 22. Despite their struggles of late, the Terriers currently lead the NEC in service aces with 1.58 per set. Senior libero Mireya Ramirez spearheads the serving effort with 21 aces this season.
 
NEXT UP
The Knights continue their road stretch with a non-conference match at Rider next Wednesday, October 24 at 7:00 p.m.