MADISON, N.J. (September 26, 2019) – The FDU volleyball team dropped a 26-28, 25-18, 25-22, 25-15 decision to Clarks Summit University on Thursday evening. 

The Devils fall to 4-7 on the season, and the Defenders move to 4-13. 

 The match opened with a thrilling first set. In the stanza, the Devils trailed 14-11 until they responded with a run. The Devils rally began with back-to-back kills off the attacks of sophomores Ashley Dellolio and Kacie Ros. Junior Rebecca Morse then followed with two service aces, to give the Devils the lead, 15-14. Both teams continued to battle, as the Defenders jumped out to a 26-25 lead. Sitting at match point, the Defenders failed to close out the set victory, as an attack error tied the match back up, 26-26. 

Needing a big play, the Devils turned to senior Nathalia Padron, who registered a kill off of the assist by Ros, to give the Devils the 27-26 lead. Now sitting at match point, the Devils benefited off of a Defenders error, and they went on to win the set, 28-26.

An early run by the Defenders, gave them the momentum that they would hold on to, as they picked up the second set victory. Now tied at 1-1, the Devils struggled early in the third set to get their offense going. Trailing 12-9, the Devils muscled up their best run of the contest. Ros kickstarted the Devils surge with the kill of a pass from freshman Julia Preslar. Following a Defenders error, the Devils registered two consecutive kills from junior Liz Moise off of passes from Ros, to retake the lead, 14-12. 

Now tied at 20-20, Padron once again stepped up for the Devils at a time of need, as she converted on a pass from Ros for the kill. Despite the late match rally by the Devils, the Defenders held on to secure the third set win.

The Defenders opened the final frame with the opening three markers, but an attacking trimmed the Devils gap to one at 5-4. Clarks Summit extended their lead to eight with a 7-0 spurt to pull in front 12-4. The Devils got within five after a service error but fell after 10 of the final 15 points went in the Defenders favor.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• With 17 points and 15 kills in the match, Padron ranks sixth out of all Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom players in kills with 130, and seventh in points, with 140.
• Rookie Ana Teixeira recorded season-high 10 digs, as FDU had four players with double-figure dig totals.
• Ros totaled 31 assists in the contest.

UP NEXT
The Devils hit the road on Monday, as they pay a visit to the University of Valley Forge at 7:00 p.m.