MADISON, N.J. -- The FDU-Florham volleyball team improved to 4-0 at home by sweeping both Maritime College and Mount St. Mary College (N.Y.) 3-0 on Wednesday night at the Ferguson Recreation Center.
The Devils (6-6) cruised to both victories to move back to the .500 mark on the campaign.
Match One:The Devils rolled the Maritime College Privateers (3-4) in straight sets (25-10, 25-5, and 25-21) in their first match of the day. Freshman
Melissa Gaffney (League City, Texas/Clear Creek) totaled 12 kills on 19 total swings for an impressive .526 attack percentage in the victory. Devils' setter
Codi Inloes-Williams (Palmer Lake, Colo./Liberty) set up her teammates all day and finished with 22 assists, while FDU-Florham received excellent back-row play from sophomore libero
Alex Mueller (Gainesville, Fla./Eastside), who totaled 11 digs in the match.
Match Two:In the nightcap, the Devils continued their winning ways as they swept the Mount St. Mary College (N.Y.) Knights (6-5) 3-0 to close out the tri-match. The two teams split the first two sets before FDU-Florham claimed sets three and four by matching 25-17 final scores. Trailing 24-23 in the first set,
DeAnna D'Amico (Totowa, N.J./Passaic Valley) and
Lauren Edwards (Perry Hall, Md./Roland Park Country teamed up to block Knights' outside hitter
Rachel Sabatini's swing, which brought the Devils even. Inloes-Williams served it out with an ace, before a Knights' attack error gave the Devils the 1-0 lead.
The Knights rallied to take the second set 25-13 before FDU-Florham countered with strong performances in the third and fourth set to earn the victory. Gaffney dominated with 17 kills, while fellow freshman
Natalie Knudsen (Chester, N.J./Mendham) posted a career-high 12 kills in the win. In addition to her 17 putaways, Gaffney also added 19 digs to her ledger as FDU-Florham played stout defense throughout the contest.
Next up for the Devils:FDU-Florham will head to New Paltz, N.Y. to take part in the SUNY New Paltz Tournament, which begins this Friday, September 12th.
