TEANECK, NJ- The Saint Peter's women's volleyball team battled hard but fell to Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) in three sets, 25-17, 25-22, 25-17, Wednesday night.
Match Summary:
FDU came out strong, scoring the first three points of the match. The Peacocks' Karolina Rodriguez recorded the first kill for Saint Peter's, but FDU maintained a comfortable 3-4 point lead throughout the early part of the set. The Knights eventually extended their lead to nine, and while the Peacocks attempted to chip away at the deficit, they could not bring the score closer than six points. FDU took the opening set 25-17.
The second set was a back-and-forth thriller. Both teams kept the score close, with neither side pulling away by more than three points. Saint Peter's tied the score 11 times, even taking the lead on three occasions. However, two consecutive errors by the Peacocks allowed FDU to close out the set 25-22.
FDU opened the third set on a dominant seven-point run, putting the Peacocks on the defensive early. Despite a kill from Rodriguez and a pair from Valeria Pagan Munoz, along with some Knight errors, Saint Peter's struggled to close the gap. FDU stretched their lead to 10 points, leading 15-5 at one point. The Peacocks' best run of the set came with three consecutive points, trimming the deficit to four at 21-17, but FDU responded with a four-point run to finish the match and complete the sweep, taking the final set 25-17.
Inside the Numbers:
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Pagan Munoz tallied nine kills
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Penelope Rivera Morales had eight kills, a pair of aces, and two blocking assists.
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Elena Bilhartz had five kills, swinging .571 on the day.
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Danielle Caligiuri totaled 15 assists and nine digs.
Up Next:
The Saint Peter's women's volleyball team will open up MAAC conference play against Merrimack College on September 28 in North Andover, MA. Match is set for 7PM.
For continuing coverage of Saint Peter's University Athletics, visit SaintPetersPeacocks.com and follow the Peacocks on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
