Box Score LORETTO, PA.  – FDU women's volleyball dropped their first NEC match earlier today, falling to Saint Francis in four sets. Despite a hard-fought battle, the Knights were unable to find a way to stop a consistent Red Flash Squad.  
 
In a similar opening to their first match against Saint Francis, the Burgundy and Blue fell to an early 2-6 deficit. Garnering only eight kills and one ace on the set, FDU was unable to find ways to score. A hot-hitting Red Flash team logged 18 kills and only one error, leading them to a 25-17 set one victory.
 
Proving they were not going down without a fight, the Knights found their footing on offense, jumping to a 10-3 lead to open set two. Despite a comeback attempt by the Red Flash which brought the deficit to only three, the Burgundy and Blue remained steady to keep the lead. Two aces by senior Hannah Schmidt coupled with three kills by sophomore Avery Bain pushed the Knights to a 25-18 victory to even the match score at 1-1.  
 
Sets three and four were all Saint Francis, as the Red Flash found a rhythm the Knights couldn't find an answer to. Tallying 35 kills, five aces and eight blocks, a powering SFU squad handed FDU their first conference loss with set scores of 25-18 and 30-28.

The Burgundy and Blue were led by Bain, who tallied 16 kills on the match. Following Bain was freshman Angela Marchetto who logged nine kills and zero errors for an impressive hitting clip of .692. Defensively, FDU was led by senior libero Emily Van O'Linda, who totaled 13 digs. Senior Hannah Schmidt logged 21 assists, which secured her 2,500^th career assist.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
 
The Knights will return home to take on conference leader and new NEC opponent Chicago State. First serve is set for 6 pm on November 1, and will be streamed on NEC Front Row.