HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson volleyball team dropped its home opener in straight sets to LIU Brooklyn 25-16, 25-14, 25-15 at the Rothman Center on Friday night.
 
Freshman setter Corina Beimers logged a double-double with 12 assists and 10 digs, while her classmate, libero Jaelyn Young totaled a match-high 14 digs in the loss.
 
The defending NEC Champion Blackbirds (4-6, 1-0 NEC) were led by Kora Schaberl's 10 kills and 25 assists from setter Piper Matsumoto.
 
Playing their first home match of the season, the Knights got off to a slow start as the Blackbirds scored the first six points. Trailing 8-3, the Knights fought back with Nataliya Rybakova and Erin Singer each delivering a kill to make it a 10-7 game. The Blackbirds would later break the set open with a 6-0 run to establish a comfortable 23-12 lead en route to the win.
 
In the second frame, the Knights captured an early 5-2 edge, which included a kill from Singer. Singer finished with five kills on the night. The Blackbirds would storm back by scoring six straight points on FDU errors.
 
The lead remained intact for the Blackbirds, who eventually stretched their cushion to double-digits and took a 2-0 match lead.
 
After falling behind 14-7 in the final set, the Knights put some pressure on the Blackbirds with a 5-1 burst. Sophomore Magdalena Maksimovic recorded a kill and teamed up with freshman Brooke Stevens for a block over the course of the run. Stevens, who leads the Knights with 45 total blocks on the campaign, finished with three in the match.
 
With the Knights down four points, 18-14, the Blackbirds regrouped and scored seven of the final eight to take the set and the match. Both teams logged their highest attack percentage in that final frame as the Blackbirds logged 20 kills with just four errors and the Knights totaled seven kills with one error.
 
The Knights are back in action tomorrow at the Rothman Center when they host St. Francis Brooklyn at 4:00 p.m.