BUFFALO, N.Y.- A difficult road trip for FDU continued with a five-set loss to D'Youville on Saturday afternoon. The 3-2 victory marked D'Youville's first-ever NEC win.

The first set was a promising one for the Knights. Even after falling behind 11-15, they were able to hit their stride the rest of the way. A 25-22 score in favor of the Knights put FDU in the driver's seat, 1-0.

It was D'Youville "calling shotgun" in the second set. They jumped out to a lead and kept their foot on the gas the whole way through. They won the set 25-16 and evened the match at 1-1. Despite hitting at a .385 clip in the third set, FDU was not able to halt the Saints' newfound momentum. D'Youville cruised to a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-18 victory in the third.

The Knights were able to regain their footing in the fourth. While, D'Youville looked to close out the match, FDU resisted the Saints' desperate desire to earn their first conference victory. The Knights grabbed a 15-12 lead at the media and eventually won the set handedly, 25-18. FDU had 15 total kills in the fourth set alone.

Unfortunately, the Knights' woes resurfaced in the fifth set. They fell behind 11-8 and were not able to recover. D'Youville claimed the final frame with a score of 15-11.  The Knights hit a .400 clip in the final set but the Saints' offense still found a way to overpower them.

The loss marked the eighth straight for FDU.

Jamal Ellis Carballo and Ethan Young carried the load for FDU offensively. They combined for 30 kills and helped the Knights to a .354 hitting percentage. The service line was not a friendly destination for FDU as they struggled to keep balls in play with 16 service errors. Despite outhitting D'Youville, these errors doomed FDU due to D'Youville's ten aces on the match.
 

What's Next

The Knights travel to Merrimack next Friday for a match against the Warriors that begins at 5pm on NEC Front Row.