BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The Fairleigh Dickinson volleyball team fell in straight sets to LIU Brooklyn 3-0 (25-10, 25-12, 25-22) at the Steinberg Wellness Center on Friday night.
 
With the win, the Blackbirds (11-6, 8-0 NEC) maintained their first-place standing in the NEC and remain unbeaten in conference play.
 
The Knights (2-20, 0-8 NEC) were led by junior middle Abigail Strebig's nine kills. Appearing in just her fifth match this season, the nine kills are a season-high for Strebig. Sophomore Magdalena Maksimovic chipped in with six kills and seven digs for the Knights, while freshman libero Jaelyn Young tallied a team-high 14 digs in the loss.
 
Viktoria Fink led the charge for the Blackbirds by tallying a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs and setter Piper Matsumoto dished out 21 assists.
 
The first-place Blackbirds dominated the first set, registering a .438 attack percentage, while limiting the Knights to just .033 en route to the 15-point margin of victory.
 
In the second set, the Blackbirds matched their 14-7 kill advantage from the first set and took advantage of seven attack errors by the Knights to win by 13.
 
The third set of the night was the most contested and featured 14 ties. The Knights last lead, 17-16, came after Strebig ended the volley with a solo block.
 
Down the stretch, Back-to-back kills from Maksimovic and Nataliya Rybakova brought the Knights to within one, 22-21, but the Blackbirds scored three of the final four points to finalize the straight-set win.
 
The Knights are back in Brooklyn tomorrow as they take on St. Francis Brooklyn at 4:00 p.m.