DEKALB, Ill. – The Fairleigh Dickinson volleyball team dropped its 2019 opener 3-1 (21-25, 25-18, 14-25, 25-27) to the host Huskies at the Northern Illinois Invitational.
 
In the loss, junior outside hitter Magdalena Maksimovic paced the Knights (0-1) with 13 kills, while junior Victoria Demmene registered 11 kills in her FDU debut. Junior setter McKenna Setterlund amassed a double-double in her first outing of the season by tallying 26 assists and 15 digs.
 
For NIU (1-0) Kaitlyn Bell totaled 14 kills and setter Grace Balensiefer handed out 49 assists in the win.
 
After falling behind 5-0 in the opening set, the Burgundy and Blue would find themselves in a 15-7 hole before mounting a comeback. With sophomore libero Jaelyn Young serving, the Knights chipped away with six straight points including an ace by Young and a kill by freshman Mujay Mambu.
 
Later in the frame, back-to-back kills by Mambu would bring the Knights to within one, 22-21, before the host Huskies recorded the final four points to take a 1-0 match lead. Mambu would finish with 11 kills in the contest.
 
Aided by a pair of service aces by Young, the Knights jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second set. The second-year libero totaled three aces on the afternoon. After the Huskies pulled to within one, 15-14, the Knights responded with four straight tallies and ultimately closed out the seven-point win. In that second set, the Burgundy and Blue notched a .375 attack percentage, their highest of the match. Their 11 kills came were accompanied by just two errors.
 
In the third set, the Knights fell behind 10-5 and were unable to close the gap as the Huskies rolled to the double-digit victory.
 
The fourth frame was the most tightly contested of the afternoon. The teams traded three leads before the Knights briefly earned some breathing room thanks to consecutive kills from Mambu and Jessica Throckmorton, which established a 10-6 edge.
 
The home team responded by scoring 18 of the next 24 points and appeared poised to close out the Knights quietly, however, the Burgundy and Blue would fight back. Trailing 22-16, a pair of kills by Maksimovic and Brooke Stevens kickstarted a 5-0 spurt by the Knights.
 
Facing match point, 24-22, Mambu and Demmene each put away a ball before an NIU attack error gave the Knights a 25-24 game point. Despite the momentum, the Knights would not score again as the Huskies registered the final three points to take the set and the match.
 
The Knights are back on the floor at the NIU Invitational tonight at 6:00 p.m. (EST) when they take on UC Riverside.