HACKENSACK, N.J.- FDU Men's Volleyball improves to 5-4 after downing the Princeton Tigers (2-7) in a 3-0 home sweep. With the victory, the Knights downed the Tigers for the first time in program history, and recorded their second home sweep this season.
 

Set 1

The middle of the front was involved early for the Knights, after Rayjan Suarez Palacios and Baboloki Silwane logged early kills to keep the game even at 3-3. 

With Princeton ahead 6-5, FDU powered back, with a four point run spearheaded by Jamal Ellis, who recorded a kill and a blocking assist during the rally. FDU put themselves back in front 9-6. The Knights continued to keep distance between themselves and the tigers, trading off points until two errors put the Tigers down 14-10. 

The gap closed late in the first set, with Princeton down 22-20. A Kill by Andrew Michael was followed by an attacking error to put FDU in a set point situation. Ellis delivered with an assist by Silwane as FDU took set one, 25-23. 
 

Set 2

Michael recorded an early ace, to even the game at 2-2. Princeton was able to gain separation on the Knights, pushing out to a 7-4 margin. Ellis and Biro capped off a 3 point run to tie the contest again at seven each way. 

The contest continued going back and forth, with the score tied once again at 12-12. FDU found their footing, with Ellis logging another kill which was followed by four errors by the tigers. After jumping out 17-12, FDU sacrificed five more points to even the contest 17-17. 

Ellis recorded the final kill of the set for FDU, putting his squad ahead 21-19. Four of the final five scores were off Princeton errors as the Knights took the second set, 25-20. 
 

Set 3

The Tigers started the set strong, leading 4-2. The Knights opened up the scoring with Suarez Palacios logging a kill down the middle. The run also featured a service ace from Dylan McFadden and was capped by a Laydon Biro kill. The Knights recaptured the lead 6-4. 

After the Tigers fought their way back on top, Panagiotis Kourmouzos fired a kill to tie the score 8-8. Silwane followed this effort with a service ace to put the Knights ahead, 9-8. The Knights never trailed the rest of the way. 

After continuing to trade points, the Tigers tied the game at 19-19. Errors continued to plague the visitors, as two more miscues gave the Knights a 21-19 lead late. With a 24-23 lead Laydon Biro struck again to seal the game 25-23. 
 

The Stats:

• Jamal Ellis: 13 kills, 4 digs, 2 blocking assists, 1 service ace
• Rayjan Suarez Palacios: 9 kills, 3 blocking assists
• Dylan McFadden: 8 kills, 3 digs, service ace

What's Next

The Knights are back in action tomorrow, hosting George Mason at 2 p.m. Coverage of the game will be on NEC front row.  Read Full Article