LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Fairleigh Dickinson volleyball team fell in four tightly-contested sets to Delaware State (25-16, 21-25, 25-20, 25-23) in their opening match at the 2019 Bison Invitational on Friday afternoon.
 
The Knights (0-11) held an early lead in the first set and won the second but ultimately dropped the third and fourth frames to the Hornets (4-8). With the loss, the all-time series between the teams moves to 5-5.
 
Three Knights recorded double-digit kills in the loss with junior outside hitter Victoria Demmene's 14 kills leading the way. Demmene's kill total is her highest output since arriving on the Hackensack this season. Joining Demmene were freshman Mujay Mambu, who tallied 12 kills and junior Magdalena Maksimovic, who finished with 10.
 
In addition to the hitters, junior setter McKenna Setterlund amassed 37 assists in the loss – her second-highest total of the season.
 
Anadys Valentin and Ryann Burnett spearheaded the Hornets attack with 18 and 16 kills, respectively. The Hornets registered a .202 attack percentage compared to the Knights' .167 performance on the afternoon.
 
Behind two kills from Mambu and a service ace from Maksimovic, the Knights raced out to an 8-1 lead in the opening set. Trailing 11-9, the Hornets overtook the Knights by scoring 10 of the next 12 points. Valentin was at the forefront of the effort with three kills and an ace over that span.
 
The Knights would turn the tables in the second set. Down 8-3, the Burgundy and Blue fought back with Demmene and Maksimovic leading the charge. Demmene would eventually ice the win by hammering home the set-clinching point from Setterlund, which evened the match at 1-1.
 
In the third, the Hornets took an early lead and held off the Knights for the duration. The Burgundy and Blue were limited to their lowest attack percentage of the contest, .114, and lost by five points.
 
The fourth frame saw the teams exchange early leads before settling on a 14-14 tie. Three kills by Burnett aided a 4-0 spurt by the Hornets, who would eventually take a 23-19 lead. The Knights refused to go down quietly as they answered back with three straight tallies including a kill by Jessica Throckmorton however, kills by Valentin and Jelena Dukic sealed the win for the Hornets.
 
The Knights conclude their weekend at Bucknell with a pair of matches tomorrow. First up is a test with the host Bison at 12:30 p.m. followed by a match against Hampton at 3:00 p.m.