ALBANY, N.Y. - FDU women's volleyball continued their run in the UAlbany Invitational today with two matches against UAlbany and Iona. Ending the day with one loss and one win, the Knights finish their weekend 1-2.
Game one against UAlbany proved to be a battle as the Knights and Great Danes fought through five sets. Struggling on offense, the Burgundy and Blue clocked in only 18 kills in the first two sets. Scrappy defense from senior
Emily Van O'Linda was not enough to keep the Knights within fighting distance, leaving room for a dominate UAlbany team to take an early 2-0 lead in the match.
Finding momentum in set three, FDU logged 17 kills and only five errors for a hitting clip of .314. Junior
MacKenzy Ruggiero led the charge, propelling the Knights with five kills to take a 25-22 set three victory. In a similar story, set four was all FDU as the Great Danes found themselves riddled with unforced errors. Taking advantage of the slowed down UAlbany team, the Knights were able to force a fifth set with a 25-18 victory.
Proving they weren't going down without a fight, UAlbany came out swinging in the fifth set, quickly taking a 6-1 lead. Two kills from sophomore
Avery Bain brought the Knights within five points, but the early lead by the Great Danes showed to be detrimental. Unable to recover, the Burgundy and Blue dropped the set 15-10.
The Knights were led by Graduate Student
Eleonora Tosi, who tallied 12 kills and only four errors. Defensively, Van O'Linda led the charge with 14 digs, followed by junior
Maria Cisneros who picked up 11 digs to go along with eight kills and one ace.
With a quick turnaround, the Knights headed back into action, taking on Iona in an afternoon matchup. Set one proved to be a tough offensive performance for FDU, who tallied only 13 kills, with seven errors to go along with it. Thanks to a myriad of errors by Iona, the Burgundy and Blue were able to stay within four points the entire set. Without the offensive power they needed, the Knights dropped set one 25-23. Sets two and three saw a livelier FDU squad, who tallied four services aces and four blocks to go along with their 31 kills. With the steadier performance, the Burgundy and Blue were able to take the two sets 25-23 and 25-22.
The story of set four was all Knights, as FDU cruised to an early 9-4 lead. Freshman
Lihi Zaibert showed her dominance at the net, tallying three kills and one block. A comeback from the Gaels threatened to even the score, nearly tying the Knights at 16-17. A brief timeout gave the Burgundy and Blue the push to rally ahead and win the set and match 25-18.
The Knights return to action next weekend, as they head home for the FDU Invitational Presented by Hilton of Hasbrouck Heights. Taking on Lafayette and Fordham, the Burgundy and Blue will look to take a weekend sweep in their first matches of the year at home.
