Scranton, Pa. (October 7) – The FDU-Florham volleyball team (10-9) traveled to the campus of Marywood University for tri-match action in which they were downed by the Pacers (6-12), 3-1 but were able to salvage the day right after as they blanked Hood College (6-12), 3-0 on Saturday afternoon.

Vs. Marywood

Rachel Reiter (Riverside, Calif) posted a career-best 18 kills in the match as well as two blocks. Gabbie Hart (Cherry Hill, NJ) also posted a career-best in kills with 15 in the match and a team-best three blocks. Charlotte Fruscione (Mahwah, NJ) posted her fourth 20+ dig match this season with 24 digs while Vanessa Freeman (Piscataway, NJ) and Gianna Buscarino (Centereach, NY) each posted double-digit digs with 13 apiece. Buscarino also had a career-best 23 assists in the match followed by Victoria Carrico (Mountainside, NJ) who tallied 17 assists.

Set 1: Each team exchanged points until Marywood scored three-unanswered to take a 5-3 lead. The Devils battled back and tied the contest 7-7 that included kills from Arianna Wood (Wayne, NJ) and Freeman, but a 6-1 run gave the Pacers a 13-8 advantage. Reiter fired down five kills to help FDU eventually cut the lead to 18-17 but once again, Marywood went on a run, this time of five unanswered to give them a 23-17 edge. The Pacers eventually held of the Devils 25-19 to take set one.

Set 2: Five unanswered points started the second set for Marywood before the run was halted with a kill from Hart. The Pacers controlled most of the early set, jumping out to leads of 9-2 and 12-3. It wasn't until the 13-4 mark when Fairleigh Dickinson start cutting into the lead. A 7-2 run cut the deficit to 15-11, but three unanswered kept FDU at bay, 18-11. The Pacers jumped out to a 24-15 score with a chance to seal it. The Devils scored six unanswered that included two kills from Freeman and a service ace from Fruscione. Marywood capped off the set right after the run with a kill and took a 2-0 set lead into the third.

Set 3: Trying to avoid the sweep, The Devils came out in set three with four unanswered and jumped out to early leads of 5-1 and 7-3. After a point from Marywood, each team scored three points apiece for a 10-7 lead before FDU scored four unanswered that included kills from Reiter, Freeman and a service ace from Fruscione. The Devils kept the Pacers at bay down to a 23-16 advantage. Marywood found three straight points, but a kill from Jada Everett (Hackensack, NJ) and an attack error closed out the set as Fairleigh Dickinson took set three and avoided the sweep.

Set 4: It was a back-and-forth beginning to set four that saw three lead changes. The Devils held a 7-6 edge but five straight gave the Pacers an 11-7 lead. From that point on, The Devils were never able to regain the lead as the Pacers held them off the rest of the way. Marywood held a 20-11 lead at one point before the Devils were able to cut into the lead but after climbing to a 24-22 score, the Pacers sealed the match with on a kill.

Vs. Hood

Hart led the team in kills with eight. Buscarino and Carrico each tallied 13 assists. Fruscione tallied another double-digit dig effort with 13 followed by Wood who tallied nine to go along with five kills.

Set 1: It was a back-and-forth start to the set. Fairleigh Dickinson jumped out to a 6-3 lead, Hood tied the match with three unanswered but was matched with three straight of their own from FDU on kills from Freeman and Fruscione. The Blazers were able to flip the script with five straight for an 11-9 lead but three straight on kills from Hart and Everett as well as a service ace from Carrico gave the Devils the lead back, 12-11. The two teams exchanged points before Hood went on a 6-0 run for an 18-13 advantage. The scoring went back-and-forth up to a 21-17 lead for the Blazers before the Devils came back with five straight points to retake the edge, 22-21. Hood tied the match with a kill but two attack errors and a kill from Hart gave FDU.

Set 2: The Devils jumped out to a 9-4 lead early. The Blazers got a kill before five straight points from the Devils that included kills from Wood and Freeman gave FDU a 14-5 lead. Hood stormed back with four straight points but a pair of points for Fairleigh Dickinson made the score 16-9 in their favor. The two teams fought back-and-forth for the rest of the set and the big early lead eventually led to a 25-18 Devils win in set two.

Set 3: The Blazers jumped out to a 4-2 edge before five unanswered from the Devils that included to service aces from Hart gave FDU a 7-4 lead. The next big rally of points did not come until an 11-9 lead for FDU saw them go on a 7-1 run for an 18-10 advantage. A pair of points from Hood was doubled by Fairleigh Dickinson with two service aces from Freeman for a 22-12 advantage. The Blazers did not make it easy for the Devils down the stretch, as they went on a massive 9-2 run to cut the deficit to 24-21. A service error on the match point sealed the victory for FDU and completed the sweep.

FDU-Florham returns to MAC Freedom action on Tuesday, October 9 at 7:00 pm as they host DeSales on Roger Kindel court.

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