HACKENSACK, N.J.- Knights men's volleyball (3-4)returned home to complete a 3-0 sweep over AIC (0-7). FDU utilized seven service aces and a .224 hitting percentage to secure their third home win of the season.
With the opening set tied early 2-2, the Knights rattled off a 4-0 run over the visitors. The stretch included two kills by
Vinil Shah, with a
John Petrucci service ace between them to take a 6-2 lead.
The Knights capitalized on errors later in the set, with two AIC attacking errors spurring a seven point stretch for FDU.
Andrew Michael recorded a service ace before the run was punctuated with a
Laydon Biro kill to keep FDU ahead 15-6. The Knights continued to stack runs on their visitors, recording six of the last eight points, as they cruised to a 25-12 opening set win.
The second set saw AIC leap out 4-0 over FDU. Shah recorded two more kills to position the Knights in striking distance, down 6-3. The freshmen Michael and Petrucci recorded complimentary kills to cut the deficit 8-6.
AIC nursed a two point lead through the middle of the set, with FDU coming within one point 15-16 after a Biro kill. Biro would fire away another kill, before three consecutive errors by the visitors lifted the Knights on top late 21-19. The teams exchanged points before two more AIC errors gave FDU the second set, 25-23.
After a plethora of subs, the Knights began the third set with the lead. Panaiotis Kourmouzos recorded the first kill of the third set, before an error and an
Eli Nelson kill provided the Knights with a 3 point insurance early. The first year tandem of
Troy Markle and
Donald Smith put down a kill to give FDU the 5-2 advantage.
After AIC tied the affair 7-7, Kourmouzos struck again with a kill, which was followed by
Tim Smith's first career kill to put FDU ahead 9-7. AIC fought back to take a 14-13 lead, before
Troy Markle and
Eli Nelson bookended a four point stretch for the Knights.
Donald Smith dialed up his fifth and final kill of the night, putting FDU ahead 22-21. The third set also ended due to errors by AIC, with three errors giving FDU a 25-23 win.
Vinil Shah: 8 kills, 3 digs, hit .467.
John Petrucci: 3 kills, 2 aces, 1 block assist
Donald Smith: 5 Kills:
The Knights are back on the road Feb. 13, taking on Dominican at 7 p.m. Coverage will be provided by the CACC Network.
