PISCATAWAY, Nj.- FDU Women's volleyball (4-9) played hard in two matches on the first day at the Rutgers Tournament inside Jersey Mikes Arena. FDU took a straight-set (14-25, 22-25, 23-25) loss to Rutgers (6-4) followed by a straight-set (19-25, 22-25, 21-25) loss to Princeton (7-2.)

FDU at Rutgers

• Kylie Nott put down nine kills and Tatijana Fucka with eight kills for the Knights.
• 15 assists Hannah Schmidt. 
• Sarah Watts earned her first Division I start at the libero position and finished with seven digs.

Set 1 

• FDU got off to a great start playing a close match against their in-state Big Ten opponent.
• Rutgers scored their 14th point and went on a brief run to pull ahead and close the set 14-25. 

Set 2

• FDU took a while to get started in set 2 and was down six points (10-4.) After a kill from Sofia Rampazzo and Nott, followed by an ace from Hannah Schmidt the Knights had momentum and pulled ahead (18-17). Following a timeout by the Scarlet Knights, the home side went on an 8-4 run to close out the set 25-22. 

Set 3 

• The third set was close again with the score knotted at 19, then Rutgers went on two short 2-point runs to pull ahead and take the set 25-23 to win the match. 

FDU vs. Princeton

• Tatijana Fucka was on fire with her signature slides at the net putting down 9 kills and 2 blocks. 
• Sofia Rampazzo put on the libero shirt and achieved 10 digs and 15 receptions (.938) for the Knights.
• Sophia Spiridonakos was crucial on the service line with 3 aces serving 1.000.

Set 1 

• Princeton started strong with two kills and forced the Burgundy and Blue into four hitting errors. FDU worked to close the five-point gap after a timeout (8-3) but couldn't hold them off losing 25-19.

Set 2

• FDU turned the tables starting off with a four-point lead (5-1) but Princeton fought back to close the gap 13-13 and took the set 25-22. 

Set 3 

• After going down 6-2, FDU stormed back and tied the set at 9-9. The Tigers pulled away on a five-point run that included an ace and three kills.
• In a set in which neither team blocked the other, Princeton prevailed 25-21.

"Two competitive opponents today. Although we lost, I see the positive strides that we are making and that makes me a proud coach," said Head Coach David Nguyen.

FDU is back tomorrow at Jersey Mike's Arena for the Rutgers the second day of the tournament to play FIU at 10 a.m. The match will be streamed on the Big Ten Plus Network.

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