FAIRFIELD, CONN.- The FDU women's volleyball team (17-15, 9-5) are the 2022 NEC champions defeating the #1 Sacred Heart in an exciting five-set match on the campus of Sacred Heart (21-25, 27-25, 22-25, 25-18, 15-9).

• FDU won the NEC championship for the first time in program history. 
• This will also mark the first time the Burgundy and Blue have gone on to the NCAA Tournament.
• FDU defeated SHU for the first time since 2012. 

Inside The Box Score

• Sofia Rampazzo led the Knights with 14 kills hitting .263. Kylie Nott had 13 kills of her own while hitting .189 and NEC Tournament MVP Tatijana Fucka had 12 while hitting .450. 
• Hannah Schmidt had 30 assists. 
• Megan Bushnell and Sophia Spiridonakos each had two of the seven aces. 
• Allegra Rivas had 49 receptions and passed 1.000 and a season-high 29 digs. 

Set 1

• FDU played close with SHU with 14 ties and seven lead changes. It was tied at 21 before SHU pulled ahead to win it 25-21 with an ace, a kill, and 2 FDU hitting errors. 
• Rampazzo had four kills and an ace for the Knights. 

Set 2

• Set two was another battle with 14 tie scores and 6 lead changes. Once again, it was tied late in the set at 20 before SHU got a short three-point lead. The Knights tied it again at 24 and pulled ahead and won the set 27-25 off the final SHU hitting error. 
• Nott came in to hit five kills (.250).

Set 3

• The Burgundy and Blue came off a winning set with a 4-0 lead. SHU closed it at 11 but kills from Spiridonakos and Nott and a solo block from Fucka quickly put them in the lead again with Rampazzo at the service line. SHU, however battled back and went on an 8-2 run to end it at 25-22. 
• Rampazzo, Nott and Fucka each had three kills. 

Set 4

• FDU had an early nine-point lead at 11-2 and grew that lead to 11 points at 21-10. The visitors kept the Pioneers at an arms-length to force a fifth set, 25-18. 
• Rampazzo and Nott each put down four kills. 

Set 5

• With the score tied at 4-4, FDU went on two short runs to pull ahead and win the set 15-9 taking the championship match with a kill from Mackenzy Ruggiero to end it. 

"Another amazing performance for this team," head coach David Nguyen said. "We only know to fight and that's exactly what we did. I am so proud of our team and everything that we stand for."

Graduate student Tatiana Fucka, the Most Valuable Player of the NEC Championship, was key in guiding the Knights to their glory. Posting a .450 hitting percentage, the middle blocker delivered 12 kills and added three blocks. Fucka combined for 20 kills and eight blocks on the weekend, averaging 2.22 and 1.00 per set, respectively.

Sofia Rampazzo came just shy of a double-double for the Knights with 14 kills and nine digs, while Allegra Rivas paced the defense with 29 digs. The duo joined Fucka on the NEC All-Tournament Team.

FDU will get the automatic bid to the NCAA championship and find out their first-round opponent during the selection show, set to take place on November 27th. 

Connect with the Knights on Twitter and Instagram, @FDUKnightsWVB.