HACKENSACK, N.J.- In the first home match of the 2024 season, the FDU Men's Volleyball team showed a dominate performance against well-known competitor, St. Thomas Aquinas. The second matchup between the teams in a short 3-week span showed an impressive offensive performance from
Karl France and his team.
The Knights took an early 5-0 lead in set one, courtesy of aggressive serving by sophomore
Jamal Ellis Carballo, who totaled 6 service aces on the night. STAC's response of a 4-point run was not enough to quiet the Knights who tallied 13 kills and only 3 errors in the opening set. The Knights took set one 25-19.
Set two kicked off with a 6-point service run, including 3 aces from freshman
Rayjan Suarez Palacios. The Spartan's were able to bring the score within four at 9-13, but timely kills by Senior
Ethan Young kept the Knights on top. Unforced errors assisted STAC throughout the set, with the Knights committing seven service blunders. The mistakes were not enough to stop the burgundy and blue however, as they took a set 2 victory with a score of 25-18.
In a similar story to sets one and two, the Knights took an early lead with help from Ellis Carballo, who had tallied two service aces and two kills by the 10
th point. The Spartan's took a majority of their points in the set from FDU blunders, including five service faults and six hitting mistakes. Despite the errors, the Knights had a commanding third set performance with nine kills, four aces and five blocks.
The burgundy and blue were dominate offensively, with 37 kills and just 13 errors for a combined hitting percentage of .247. The Knights were led by Junior
Jack Lydon who put up 12 kills with just one error for an impressive .500 hitting clip. Young and Ellis Carballo followed close behind with 8 kills apiece.
What's Next
FDU will return to action on the road in Orangeburg, N.Y. to face Dominican at the Hennessy Center. The match begins at 7 p.m. and will be streamed on the CACC network.
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