PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- In its first game of the 14th Annual Friar Volleyball Classic, the Fairleigh Dickinson volleyball team was defeated by the Brown Bears on Friday evening, 3-1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-9, 25-20).
The first set saw both teams going back-and-forth, as Emma Liller converted a kill to give the Burgundy and Blue an early 6-5 lead. Later in the set, Brown would rally to score seven of the next eight points to jump ahead of FDU. Looking for a jolt, freshman Jessica Throckmorton tallied a service ace to bring the Knights within three, 19-16.
Immediately after a late timeout in the first set, sophomore McKenna Setterlund set up Erika Sullivan for the kill to make the score 21-17. Brown responded by taking four of the last six points to take the first set, 25-19.
Ending the first set with the momentum, Brown carried it over to the start of the second set, as the Bears jumped to an early 5-0 lead. FDU immediately responded, taking back the momentum by registering six of the next seven points. Kills by Throckmorton and Sullivan gave the Knights an 11-8 lead, forcing the Bears to use a timeout.
Dishing out assists, Setterlund set up freshman Kati Quaintance for a kill to put the Burgundy and Blue ahead 13-10. Taking advantage of the Bears' miscues, FDU forced another Brown timeout after Liller dialed in an ace, making it a 15-10 lead.
Later in the set, back-to-back FDU points gave the Knights a 19-13 lead after an Erin Singer kill. Brown then came charging back, taking five of the next seven points, forcing head coach Andrea Nolan to use a timeout with the Knights leading, 21-18.
After the timeout, the Knights charged ahead, taking the last three points to seal the second set victory, 25-21.
In the third set, the two teams battled evenly in the early part. With the score tied at seven apiece, the Bears scored 18 of the next 20 points to clinch the third set, 25-9.
The early part of the fourth set played out merely the same as the first two sets, as both teams traded point-for-point. The Bears jumped out quickly to a 4-1 lead, before Jaelyn Young's ace got the Knights on the board. Later in the action, Nataliya Rybakova slammed a kill, cutting the Bears lead to 8-5.
Back-to-back kills from Setterlund and Brooke Stevens tied the two evenly matched teams at 19 apiece. The Bears would come up big in the final set, taking four of the last five points to seal the victory, winning the fourth set 25-20.
Singer wound up pacing the Knights with seven kills, while Sullivan led the Burgundy and Blue with 18 digs. Setterlund dished out 21 assists during the game.
As a team, FDU recorded nine blocks, with Stevens registering six of them.
Up next, the Knights will return to action tomorrow (Sat, Sept 1) where they will play two matches. First up is host Providence at 10:30 a.m. Later in the day, FDU will battle UMass Lowell at 3:30 p.m.
