CHICAGO, ILL. – FDU women's volleyball secured their spot in the NEC Championship earlier tonight with a four set win over Saint Francis. Returning to the finals for the third time in three years, the Knights continue their historic season.
Set one proved to be all Knights, as the Burgundy and Blue jumped to an early 7-4 lead. Dominate in every category, FDU was able to outplay the Red Flash to open the NEC Championships. Logging 12 kills and only three errors, FDU hit an impressive .409 on the set. Holding SFU to a .037 hitting clip, the Red Flash found themselves unable to find an answer to a fired-up Knights squad. Behind sophomore
Avery Bain and junior
MacKenzy Ruggiero who tallied four kills apiece, the Knights took set one 25-15.
Despite a dominate victory, the Knights found themselves cooled off in set two. With 13 kills and 10 errors, the Burgundy and Blue were struggling to log points at a .081 hitting clip. Although a late push led by graduate student
Eleonora Tosi brought the Knights within two, Saint Francis was able to tie the match with a 25-23 set two victory.
Set three saw back-and-forth action, as neither team could gain any kind of substantial lead. A strong defensive effort by FDU sealed the deal however, as the Burgundy and Blue logged 5 blocks, with three of those coming courtesy of freshman
Angela Marchetto. Momentum on their side, the Knights took set three 25-22 to take a 2-1 match lead.
The final set was all Tosi, as the Novellara, Italy native logged six kills and three blocks on the set. With 14 kills, two aces and two blocks, the Knights secured a match victory with a 25-21 set win to take a spot in the NEC Championships.
As a team, the Knights logged 50 kills, nine aces, 12 blocks and 53 digs. Offensively, FDU was led by Tosi, who tallied 15 kills and just three errors for a hitting percentage of .387. Defensively, senior
Emily Van O'Linda led the charge, totaling 17 digs.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Knights will face Chicago State tomorrow (11/23) in the NEC Championship finals at the Jacoby Dickens Center in Chicago, Illinois. First serve is set for 8 pm EST and will be streamed on ESPN+ and NEC Front Row.
