MADISON, N.J. -- The FDU-Florham women's volleyball team delighted their home crowd on Saturday by winning all three of their matches in exciting fashion. The Devils led off with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Ramapo College (25-21, 25-22, 17-25, 13-25, 15-13), followed that with another five-set battle against Hunter College (24-26, 25-16, 12-25, 26-24, 15-6), before concluding the day with a clean sweep of Mount Aloysius College (25-19, 25-16, 25-19).
The Devils (11-9, 0-1 Freedom) were led by freshman setter
Codi Inloes-Williams (Palmer Lake, Colo./Liberty), who posted 38, 36, and 28 assists in the three matches respectively. Inloes-Williams has helped propel a new-look FDU-Florham attack in 2014. The freshman has utilized a cast of new weapons, including fellow first-year standout
Melissa Gaffney (League City, Texas/Clear Creek). Gaffney increased her double-digit kill streak to five matches by totaling 10 or more kills in each of the Devils' three victories.
FDU-Florham has now gone to five-sets in three of their last four matches.
Match One:
FDU-Florham began the day with a surge, winning two competitive sets against Ramapo College (11-4), however, the Devils were unable to secure the victory in the third set, as the Lady Roadrunners rallied to win it 25-17. The fourth set was all Ramapo, as the away team cruised to a 25-13 victory and appeared to have all the momentum on their side. A competitive fifth set comprised of several ties including a deadlock at 11-11. Back-to-back kills by Gaffney and Inloes-Williams gave FDU-Florham a two-point advantage, which they would not relinquish. Gaffney paced FDU-Florham's attack with 13 kills and added 18 digs to her ledger, while sophomore
DeAnna D'Amico (Totowa, N.J./Passaic Valley) added eight kills and a season-high six blocks.
Match Two:In their second tilt of the day, FDU-Florham went the distance against Hunter College (7-10) and earned another five-set victory. Unlike the first match, this effort was a see-saw affair as the home team lost a nail-biter 24-26 before cruising to a 25-16 win in the second set. The Hawks rebounded and rolled to a 25-13 fourth-set victory and appeared to be in control. However, the Devils remained determined and dug deep to pull out a 26-24 win and force a decisive fifth set. With the momentum in their corner, the Devils dominated the fifth set 15-6. Inloes-Williams and
Rachel Catena (Flemington, N.J./Hunterdon Central) served the Devils to a 6-1 lead and they cruised to the finish line. In the win, Gaffney totaled 15 put-aways, while teammate
Natalie Knudsen (Chester, N.J./Mendham) chipped in with 12 kills and seven digs.
Match Three:A weary Devils squad, took the court for their third match of the day determined to take care of business in short order. The team cruised a straight-set victory over the Mount Aloysius College Mounties (3-12) to wrap-up a long day of volleyball. Again, it was Gaffney leading the charge with a match-high 14 kills. Fellow freshman
Arianna Christou (Schenectady, N.Y./Mohonasen) provided a spark off of the bench with four kills, three blocks and a service ace, while D'Amico and sophomore
Alex Barnett (Winchester, Va./Handley) combined for nine kills and five blocks in the win.
Next up for the Devils:FDU-Florham returns to Freedom Conference play when they host Wilkes University this Tuesday, September 23rd with first serve slated for 7 p.m.