CHESTER, Pa. -- The FDU-Florham volleyball team (14-14, 2-1 Freedom) went the distance in both of their matches on Saturday at the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Crossover Tournament. The Devils opened with a 3-2 (25-18, 18-25, 25-22, 14-25, 10-15) loss to host Widener University before dropping another five-game set to Albright College 3-2 (25-16, 25-16, 19-25, 23-25, 11-15) in their second match of the day.
Match One:The Devils claimed the first and third sets to stake a lead 2-1 but unfortunately were unable to seal the deal in the fourth set, as the Pride (3-15, 1-2 Commonwealth) stormed back to win 25-14 and force a decisive fifth set. Widener continued their momentum in the final set and earned a 15-10 victory to seal the match. In the loss, three Devils totaled double-digit kills, led by senior
Lauren Edwards' (Perry Hall, Md./Roland Park Country) 15-kill performance, The 15 put aways are a season best for the fourth-year Devil. Joining Edwards with double-digit kills were
Melissa Gaffney (League City, Texas/Clear Creek) and
DeAnna D'Amico (Totowa, N.J./Passaic Valley) with 12 and 10 respectively.
Gaffney added 27 digs to her ledger, which gave her a double-double, while freshman setter
Codi Inloes-Williams (Palmer Lake, Colo./Liberty) dished out 44 assists in the loss. For Widener,
Brooke Ruditys recorded a match-high 20 kills to pace the Pride's attack.
Match Two:FDU-Florham put match one in their rearview and jumped on top of Albright College (7-12, 1-3 Commonwealth) by taking the first two sets of match two 25-16. However, the Devils were unable to close the Lions out and dropped the third set 25-19 before battling to a 25-23 loss in set number four. A weary Devils team, could not muster the strength to pull out the fifth set, ultimately falling 15-11.
Freshman
Natalie Knudsen (Chester, N.J./Mendham) tallied a career-high 21 kills in the loss as four Devils totaled double-digit kills. Following Knudsen were D'Amico (12 kills), Edwards (11 kills), and
Rachel Catena (Flemington, N.J./Hunterdon Central) (10 kills). Also setting a career-high was Inloes-Williams, who amassed 49 assists in the five-set thriller.
Next up for the Devils:FDU-Florham is on the road this Tuesday, October 7th when they visit Dallas, Pa. to take on Misericordia University. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
