Madison NJ (September 12) – Despite having early advantages in the contest, The FDU-Florham volleyball team (4-3) could not hold off Rutgers-Newark (2-1) and suffered a 3-2 home loss to the Scarlet Raiders on Tuesday night.

Rachel Reiter (Riverside, Calif.) and Arianna Wood (Wayne, NJ) each came away with eight kills in the contest while Wood also added 12 digs on the night and Reiter tallied two blocks. Victoria Carrico (Mountainside, NJ) posted a season-high 35 assists on the night while Gabbie Hart (Cherry Hill, NJ) collected seven kills and two blocks.

Set 1: It was a back-and-forth beginning of the set between the two teams. FDU held an 8-6 lead before the team started pulling away. A Reiter kill created a 7-3 run for the Devils to hold a 15-9 lead. After a kill for the Scarlet Raiders by Kaiel Maynor, Wood knocked down a kill of her own to spark six-straight points for FDU for a 21-10 edge. The two teams exchanged points down the stretch and the Devils took set one, 25-13

Set 2: The Scarlet Raiders got a pair of points at the beginning of set two, but the Devils were able to double it with four points including three kills; two from Lindsey Davis (New Milford, NJ) and one from Wood. FDU eventually had a 14-10 lead during the set and tried to hold off Rutgers-Newark, but they fought right back with four-straight points to tie the set, 14-14. There were four lead changes heading into a 22-22 tied contest, but it was Rutgers-Newark that pulled away with three-straight points to end the frame and tie the match.

Set 3: Charlotte Fruscione (Mahwah, NJ) started off the set with a kill and helped the Devils jump out to an 8-3 lead early. FDU was in complete control of the set, jumping out to leads of 13-4. 16-6, 18-8 and 20-11 in set three. After being up 22-12, The Scarlet Raiders tried to climb back in the set, but the lead was too great for the Devils, and they took set three with a score of 25-19 with a chance to close out the match in set four.

Set 4: Rutgers-Newark refused to roll over for Fairleigh Dickinson and they jumped out to a 7-3 lead. A kill by Jada Everett (Hackensack, NJ) led to three points in a row but the Scarlet Raiders scored seven-straight points to take a 14-6 advantage. FDU fought back to a 15-12 score, but Rutgers-Newark never let them get too close. The Scarlet Raiders eventually were able to tie the match once again and force a fifth set.

Set 5: The fifth set started off with Rutgers-Newark holding a 4-1 lead, but four-straight points put the Devils ahead, 5-4. FDU held an 8-7 lead for the mid set court swap, but Rutgers-Newark scored four points in a row to flip the script, 11-8. The Scarlet Raiders held a 12-9 lead, but the Devils fought back once again with four kills in a row from Adrienne DeFuria (Randolph, NJ), Vanessa Freeman (Piscataway, NJ), Hart and Freeman again to take the lead, 13-12. Rutgers-Newark notched two straight kills with a chance to clinch but Freeman knocked down her third kill of the set to nod the contest at 14 apiece to make the contest now win by two. Rutgers-Newark was the one who found those points on a kill by Briana Gaviria and a service ace by Maynor to clinch the match and the comeback.

The Devils have a quick opportunity to bounce back as they host St. Josephs-Brooklyn Wednesday, September 13, with first serve slated for 7:00 pm.

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