SOUTH ORANGE, N.J.- The FDU Knights (1-1) fell to the Seton Hall Pirates (2-0) in a three set sweep.
Mila Samardzija continued her strong weekend with seven more kills, following her nine-kill first outing with the Knights. FDU plays one more match at the Seton Hall Classic, taking on Illinois State tomorrow at noon.
The Knights took an early edge in the first set. The duo of Samardzija and
Alessia Zampieri logged blocks on two of the first three rallies of the contest. Samardzija followed up the effort with a service ace to give FDU a 5-0 lead. The Knights continued to step on the gas early, with kills from Zampieri and
Kiah Lopez lifting the Knights even further ahead with an 11-3 lead.
From there, 8 of the next 10 points went the way of the Pirates, as the host squad cut the deficit to just one, 13-12. Seton hall then mustered a five-point-run to take their first lead of the afternoon, 17-15. The Pirates did not trail for the remainder of the set, as they secured the first set 25-22.
The Knights struck the first blow of the second set, with a service ace from
Isabella Scarfone. From there, the Pirates picked up where they left off in the first set. A quick burst of points gave the Pirates a 5-1 lead. Zampieri dealt a kill and helped Kaylee Jensen on a block to cut the deficit to just one, 5-4. From there, Seton Hall extended their advantage with a pair of four and five point runs to lead 17-6.
The Knights found a late burst, seeing kills come from
Nihal Kocakara, Zampieri, and Samardzija to cut into the deficit, 21-13. The Pirates however, won the final four points to take the second set 25-13.
FDU trailed early in the first set after Seton Hall secured the first nine points of the set. Kocakara and Zampieri found conescutive kills to help the Knights get on the board, trailing 10-4. From there, the Pirates continued to separate from the Knights, winning the final set 25-12.
The Knights compete in their final match of the Seton Hall Classic, taking on Illinois State at 12 p.m. The gme will not be livestreamed.
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