DANBURY, Conn. (August 31, 2018) – The Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham volleyball dropped matches to Western Connecticut and Simmons University Friday evening.

The Devils fell to 0-2 with the setbacks, but will be back in action tomorrow taking on Lasell College at 10 a.m. and Emerson College at 2 p.m.

WESTERN CONNECTICUT 3, FDU-FLORHAM 0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-21)
In the opening stanza, the Devils kept the gap within two or three points for most of the set, but the hosts reeled off four straight to grab a six point lead. Senior Katie Quinlan held off one set point, but soon after Western Connecticut ended the frame with a kill.

The Devils fell behind early in set two, as the Colonels notched the opening six points. With Quinlan serving, FDU nearly climbed all the way back, as an ace and a kill by Marissa Lehnert cut the deficit to 16-13. That was as close as they would get, as Western Connecticut notched nine of the final 11 points to grab a 2-0 lead.

Sophomore Jessica Garreffa served up an ace as part of a 5-1 spurt to get the Devils to within 16-15. After a side-out by the Colonels, junior Nathalia Padron fired up an ace and Quinlan pounded home a kill to once again pull within a point. The Devils could get no closer, as the Colonels notched the final two points to close out the match.

Padron and Quinlan each had a team-high eight kills, while Padron was the team leader with 13 digs. Senior Lauren Harris had 10 digs and Garreffa had 11 digs, while freshman Kacie Ros handed out 18 assists in her collegiate debut.

SIMMONS 3, FDU-FLORHAM 1 (25-22, 24-26, 25-18, 25-19)
After dropping a tough first set, the Devils rebounded with a 26-24 victory in the second. The Sharks had clawed in front 10-7, but a Ros ace knotted the stanza at 11. Harris pounded down a Ros set to put FDU in front 23-21, but Simmons reeled off three straight and seemed poised two grab a two-set lead. Lehnert evened the period with a kill, and then set up Harris for a kill.

The Devils notched five straight points in the third set to take an 11-10 lead, with Garreffa serving up a pair of aces. The lead was short lived, as the Sharks climbed back to take with the final six points of the set and won 25-18.

Simmons used an 8-1 rally in the final frame to grab a commanding 10-4 lead. A Padron service ace brought them back to within three, but it would be as close as they would get. After staving off one match point, Faith Gray-Williams slammed home a match-ending kill to give Simmons a 3-1 win.

​​​​​​​Quinlan had 15 kills, while Harris posted a double-double of 13 digs and 12 kills. Ros, Garreffa and Padron each had two aces, as Ros also notched a double-double of 10 digs and 38 assists.