FAIRFIELD, Conn.- FDU women's volleyball (2-9) fell in three sets to the Sacred Heart Pioneers (6-4). The Knights round out a stretch of games that saw them play four opponents in Connecticut over the last six days.
Isabella Scarfone started the game in top form, dealing a service ace to record the first point of the match. She was immediately followed by a double block from Kiah Lopez and Angela Marchetto to give the Knights a 2-0 lead.
The Knights continued to play a close set with the Pioneers, with neither team being able to record more than two points at a time. This trend broke late in the set, with Mila Samardzija logging a kill to start the Knights on a scoring spree. Ava Deguzman and Alessia Zampieri logged a block to put the Knights within two, 22-20.
FDU briefly pulled ahead with another three-point run from the Knights. A SHU service error and a Lopez service ace tied the affair at 23-23. A block from Zampieri and Scarfone gave the Knights a 24-23 lead before the Pioneers scored three more points to end the set, 26-24.
Sacred Heart ripped off a 7-3 lead, with two of FDU's points coming by way of service errors. Deguzman landed a kill to bring the Knights back within three, 7-4.
Trailing 16-10, the Knights were able to score six of the next seven points, with kills coming from Lopez and Samardzija and another double block from Deguzman and Zampieri. The Knights fought back within one, 17-16.
Zampieri and Nina Jasiecka logged the final three kills for the Knights, as SHU held onto its lead to take the second set, 25-19.
Trailing early, 4-3, the Knights found two blocking assists, which featured Zampieri in both plays. The Knights moved back in front, 6-4.
With the score still even at 7-7, Sacred Heart went on a five-point run to pull ahead of the Knights, 12-7. Another five-point run from the Pioneers gave them the separation they needed, this time extending their lead over FDU to 19-9.
Deguzman and Samardzija landed kills alongside three errors from the host squad to make the score 21-14. However, the Pioneers held on, winning the final set, 25-14.
The Knights play in their final tournament of the season, traveling to Syracuse for two matches at the Syracuse Invitational. The Knights open the weekend versus the Orange on Sep. 18 at 6 p.m. The match will air on ESPN+ and the ACC Network.
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