HACKENSACK, N.J.- FDU Men's Volleyball (6-6, 0-1 NEC) fell in four sets to Manhattan (4-10, 2-1 NEC) during FDU's NEC opener. The Knights started fast in the first set, before losing the final three sets.
Three errors by the Jaspers put FDU in front 3-0 before
Randy Delgado logged the first kill of the night. The Knight built up a 6-4 lead before an eight-point-run from FDU put them ahead 14-4. A triple block from
Rayjan Suarez Palacios,
Baboloki Silwane, and
Dylan McFadden was followed up by back-to-back
Jamal Ellis aces. McFadden topped off the run with a kill of his own.
The teams exchanged points, until
Vinil Shah and
Jamal Ellis combined for three more FDU kills to increase the Knight's lead to 19-7.
Down 23-10, the Jaspers attempted a late rally, firing off six unanswered points. Suarez Palacios and Shah laid down kills to give FDU the first set, 25-16.
Two kills from Shah helped FDU roll out to a 4-3 lead. Manhattan responded with a 7-2 run of their own to leap past FDU. Silwane and McFadden logged kills to eat away at the deficit, as the Jaspers continued to stay just ahead of the Knights, 13-10.
Two late runs by FDU put the squad back within striking distance. The first run consisted of a kill and ace by Ellis, while the second saw three differnt Knights log kills as they cut the deficit to two, 21-19.
The Jaspers were able to hold off FDU, taking the second set 25-21.
The third set saw another fist start for FDU, with
Panagiotis Kourmouzos contributing two kills on an opening 6-2 run by the Knights.
The squads would later exhange three point bursts, with the Knights capitalizing off two errors from Manhattan to lead 9-5.
FDU and Manhattan continued to exchange points through the middle of the set. Manhattan began to pull away with an 8-3 run, as they took a 20-18 lead. The Knights answered back in short order, with consecutive kills down the middle from Kourmouzos to retake the lead 22-21. The Jaspers rattled off four of the final five points to take the third set 27-25.
FDU could not get momentum going in the fourth set, not being able to take an early lead. With the score tied 5-5, the Jaspers took home five of the next seven points, earning an 11-8 advantage. Ellis fired off a kill to bring the Knights within two as Manhattan held firm with two more kills and an FDU attacking error.
The Jaspers did not trail the rest of the way, running five of the last six points to win the final set 25-16.
The Knights take on the Jaspers tomorrow at 1 p.m. Coverage will air on NEC Front Row.
