HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson volleyball team dropped its final home match of 2018 in straight sets to Bryant 25-17, 25-18, 25-15 at the Rothman Center on Saturday night.
 
Prior to first serve, the Knights (2-26, 0-12 NEC) honored senior defensive specialist Libby Bell for her four-year career. Bell tallied four digs in her two sets on Saturday.
 
Offensively, sophomores Magdalena Maksimovic and Nataliya Rybakova topped the Knights' box score with five kills apiece, while freshman outside hitter Jessica Throckmorton totaled 11 digs.
 
Caroline Kennedy hammered 13 kills to pace the Bulldogs (20-10, 10-2 NEC), who maintained their second-place standing in the NEC.
 
With the score tied at one in the first set, the Bulldogs took the lead and maintained it for the duration. Fairleigh Dickinson freshman Brooke Stevens recorded four total blocks in that opening frame but the Bulldogs finished with a .256 attack percentage and prevailed.
 
Rybakova totaled three of her kills in the second set and after a putaway from freshman Sophia Spiridonkakos, the Knights were within two, 12-10. A kill by Kennedy helped the Bulldogs re-establish their lead as they scored four straight and never looked back.
 
The third frame saw the Knights leap out to leads of 3-0 and 5-3 aided by a pair of kills from Maksimovic. Tied at 12, three straight errors by the Knights followed by a Kennedy kill and a service ace from Julia Flynn sent the Bulldogs off and running.
 
Now trailing 17-12, the Knights were unable to close the gap as the Bulldogs closed out the set and the match.
 
The Knights finalize their 2018 slate next weekend with their annual trip to Western Pennsylvania. First up is a date with Robert Morris on Friday, November 9 at 7 p.m. followed by a match at Saint Francis U on Saturday at 5 p.m.