Patchogue, NY (September 30) – The FDU-Florham volleyball team (9-7) traveled to St. Joseph's-Long Island for their third tri-match of the season. The Devils swept Mount Saint Mary (0-13), 3-0 in their first match but were downed 3-1 to St. Joseph's-Long Island, 3-1 right after.

Vs. Mount Saint Mary

Arianna Wood (Wayne, NJ) led the way with 11 kills followed closely by Gabbie Hart (Cherry Hill, NJ) who had 10 in the matchup while also posting a season-high five blocks. Victoria Carrico (Mountainside, NJ) led the team in assists with 18 while Charlotte Fruscione (Mahwah, NJ) collected a team-high 18 digs in the match and also had four service aces. Vanessa Freeman (Piscataway, NJ) contributed in multiple areas for the Devils with eight kills, four service aces, three blocks and nine digs.

Set 1: FDU controlled early in the contest, jumping out to early leads of 5-2, 7-3 11-6 and 14-8. Once the Devils held a 16-12 advantage, the two teams exchanged points up until a 21-17 advantage for the Devils. The Knights got a pair of points but were answered again with kills from Wood and Hart. After that two-point answer, Mount Saint Mary nodded the contest at 23 apiece with a four-point swing. Jada Everett (Hackensack, NJ) knocked down a ball but was answered immediately with a kill from Jonaiya Williams. Tied at 24, Wood came through with a kill and a service ace from Hart sealed the set for Fairleigh Dickinson, 26-24

Set 2: Both teams battled back-and-forth in the second set. There were two lead changes and five tied scored leading up to a 10-8 advantage for the Devils. The Knight scored four unanswered for a 12-10 lead before an attack error halted their run. FDU tied the contest 12-12 but MSM swung another run of three points to take a 15-12 edge. The Knights had a 17-14 lead before three straight kills from Freeman tied the contest again. It once again became a see saw battle until after a 21-19 lead for Mount Saint Mary, Fairleigh Dickinson collected four straight points that included two from Hart and one from Freeman to take a 23-21 advantage. The Two teams exchanged attack errors and then a kill from Williams again was answered with a kill from Wood that notched the set two win for FDU.  

Set 3: It was another back-and-forth battle early on with three lead changes and two tied scores. After the Knights went up 9-7, the Devils put together a massive 10-point swing that included three service aces from Fruscione and kill from Freeman and Lilli Nawrotzki (Flemington, NJ). Mount Saint Mary picked up a pair of points right after the big run but Fairleigh Dickinson five straight for a 22-11 lead. The Devils outscored the Knights, 3-2 down the stretch to complete the sweep with a 25-13 set three victory.

Vs. St. Joseph's-Long Island

Hart notched her second double-digit kill effort of the day against the Golden Eagles, tying a season-high with 11 kills. The Devils defense had four players hit double-digit dig marks, Wood led the way with a season-high 23. Fruscione tallied 19, Freeman recorded a season-high 15 and Gianna Buscarino (Centereach, NY) also saw a season-high with 11. Carricco led the matchup again in assists with 22 while Buscarino collected twelve to also go along with her digs and three service aces.

Set 1: It was all Saint Joseph's early on as they came out with six straight points. The Golden Eagles held a 10-4 edge before the Devils started fighting back. Four unanswered cut the lead to 10-8. FDU swung the matchup in their favor and took the lead at the 13-12 mark. The two teams then kept battling back-and-forth with four lead changes happening up to 22-21 advantage for the Devils. SJU, however, found four straight points and took set one, 25-22.

Set 2: The Devils jumped out to a 5-2 lead, but the Golden Eagles scored five straight for a score of 7-5. The Devils bounced back after falling behind, 14-8 with a five-point run that got them within a point but St. Joseph's swung momentum with a 6-1 run for a 20-14 advantage. SJU held off the Devils the rest of the way and took set two with a score of 25-17.

Set 3: Backs against the wall, FDU fought hard and held early leads of 7-4 and 14-9. After a kill from Madison Gremli, FDU scored five-straight points to jump out to a 19-10 lead. Just when it seemed that the Devils would close out the set after a 24-18 lead, the Golden Eagles fired back with six straight to nod the contest at 24 and force extra points. Both teams fought back at each other with no give from the other side until SJU had a 30-29 lead. Kills from Nawrotzki and Freeman gave them the advantage and a bad set closed out the set for FDU for a 32-30 set three win and kept the contest moving.

Set 4: After dropping the previous set, St. Joseph's came out firing and dominated the fourth set. They jumped out to a 7-0 lead and held leads later of 10-1, 14-3 and 20-8. The Devils could not find any run and eventually were defeated 25-10 and dropped their second match of the day.

FDU-Florham is back on its home court in Ferguson Rec Center and gets back to MAC Freedom play as they host Delaware Valley on Wednesday, October 4 for a 7:00 pm conference battle. The Devils volleyball program will also be playing that contest in honor of breast cancer awareness.

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