Newark, NJ (October 19) – The FDU-Florham Volleyball team (9-11, 1-3 MAC) traveled to participate in their final tri-match of the season, taking on the hosts Rutgers-Newark (10-12, 1-4 NJAC) and Gwynedd Mercy (13-8, 1-1 Atlantic East). The Devils split their sets in the tri-match, losing to Rutgers-Newark 3-0 while defeating Gwynedd Mercy 3-2.



Vs. Rutgers-Newark
In the effort against the Scarlet Raiders, Arianna Wood (Wayne, NJ) and Mackenzie Crandall (Shrewsbury, MA) lead the match with six kills. On the defensive side, Kiara Salme (Lyndhurst, NJ) and Genevieve Fitch (Charleston, SC) lead the team in digs with seven each.

Set 1: Rutgers-Newark started out on the right foot, scoring four of the match's first five points. FDU clawed back though, and including a service ace by Rachel Reiter (Riverside, Calif), they put into to within one point of tying the match at eight a piece. The Devils eventually accomplished that with a kill by Gabbie Hart (Cherry Hill, NJ) to even the game at 10-10. Unfortunately, the Scarlet Raiders went on a run of four straight, and although the Devils put some points on the board after that, limiting it to a 20-15 lead for Rutgers-Newark, the Scarlet Raiders ended set one with a run of five straight points, including a service ace on the final one, to take set one over the Devils 25-15 and a 1-0 lead in sets over FDU.

Set 2: The Scarlet Raiders started with the momentum they got from the first set, going on a six-point run to start the next one. The Devils responded immediately, and put up a run of their own for five points, which included multiple kills from Crandall to pull the match back to a narrow 6-5 Rutgers-Newark lead. Rutgers-Newark took back the momentum though, scoring five of the next six points to extend the lead to 11-6. After traded points from both sides, both teams went on long scoring runs, with Rutgers-Newark getting three points straight to get their lead to 17-11 before the Devils rattled off five straight points of their own. The remainder of the second set featured traded points, but although the set was close, the Scarlet Raiders put away the final point to get the 25-23 win and to jump to a 2-0 lead in the match.


Set 3: The third set started as a mirror image to the second, with Rutgers-Newark earning the first six points, with the Devils clawing back earning four straight points of their own, making the lead 6-5 in the Scarlet Raiders favor. Including a service ace from Hart. The rest of the match were a bunch of traded points and mini runs from each side, until Rutgers-Newark put away the set and the match with six straight service aces, giving the Scarlet Raiders the 25-15 set win and a 3-0 match win in the first match of the tri-match.


Vs. Gwynedd Mercy

The second match saw Tayla O'Connor (Roxbury, NJ) achieve 12 kills with Meghan Kreinburg (Union, NJ) not far behind with 11 to lead the Devils. On the defensive side, Samantha Schneider (South Brunswick, NJ) and O'Connor tied for the most digs, with each having 14 of them.

Set 1: The match started with both teams splitting the first 16 points, with the score being 8-8, before Gwynedd Mercy went on a six point run to take a commanding lead in the set 14-6. The Devils attempted to get back into the match, trading points the rest of the way, but the deficit proved too much, and the Griffins put up the final point of the set to win 25-19 and to take the first set of the match.

Set 2: The second set started in the Griffin's favor, as with slim FDU 2-1 lead, they went on a 5 point run to flip the lead to 7-2 Gwynedd Mercy. The Devils wouldn't stay down though, as FDU went on a 10-5 run of their own, including a Hannah Weinmann (Monroe Township, NJ) service to even the game at 12-12. However, Gwynedd Mercy then went on a 7-1 run, including scoring five straight points to take a 17-12 lead. After some traded points, the Devils dug deep, and erupted for a 6-0 run, including multiple kills by Lilli Nawrotzki (Flemington, NJ)  to even up the set, 19-19. After some traded points, FDU closed out the set with 4 staight points to win it 25-22 and to even the score of the match at 1-1.

Set 3: The third set was defined by its runs. After Gwynedd Mercy put the first two points on the board, FDU put the pedal to the metal and scored the next nine straight points, including a service ace from Jada Everett (Hackensack, NJ) and multiple kills by Kreinburg. After two more points from the Griffins, FDU went on another four point run to lead 13-4. Gwynedd Mercy responded by putting up a five point run of their own to make it a 13-9 Devils lead, but after some traded points, FDU slammed the door shut with a six point run to make it 23-12. FDU found the final point of the set shortly after to take set 3 25-13 and take a 2-1 match lead.

Set 4: Like the third set, set 4 run's are what made it. After Gwynedd Mercy went up 3-0, the Devils put down a five point run to take the lead. After some traded points however, it was the Griffins who pulled away this time, with a service error starting a 12-2 run for Gwynedd Mercy, including eight straight points at the end to make it a 18-10 lead. The Devils could only trade points at the end, and the Griffins won the fourth set 25-17 and sent the match into a deciding fifth set.

Set 5: The deciding set was close throughout the first twelve points given, which each team earning six of them. The Devils then went on a 4 point run, with a service ace coming from Schneider in it. After some more traded points, FDU finished out the set with a run of winning five of the six last points. A Griffins service error sealed victory for the Devils 15-8 in the set and 3-2 overall.
 
FDU-Florham will jump back into MAC Freedom Action on October 23^rd, when they travel to Dallas, Pa. to take on Misericordia at 7:00 PM.

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