FAIRFIELD, Conn.- #2 FDU suffered a four-set defeat at the hands of #4 LIU in the NEC Championship on Saturday Night at the William H. Pitt Center. The Knights finish the year with a record of 14-17.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• As a team, the Sharks had a .279 hitting percentage and produced 49 kills.
• LIU's defense was the story as they totaled 14 blocks and forced the Knights into 30 attack errors.
• The Knights were led by MacKenzy Ruggiero who had 11 kills in her first appearance since October 4^th.

 
MATCH FLOW

The championship match delivered a tight first set. No team could gain a lead larger than three until LIU jumped in front 15-12. Thanks to kills from Rebeka Fucka and Sofia Rampazzo, the Knights were able to cut the lead to two twice. However, they would not come any closer. LIU utilized a 4-1 run to grab a controlling 21-16 lead. They finished the set off 25-20.

The Sharks were hyper-efficient in the first set, hitting it at a .393 clip. FDU had a hitting percentage of .281 and made six attack errors.

Things looked dire for the Knights in set number two as LIU created a 9-2 spurt that gave them a 12-8 lead. With LIU still holding a 14-11 advantage, Ruggiero turned it loose. She produced four-straight kills to put FDU in front. A Tatijana Fucka kill capped off a 5-0 run and extended FDU's lead to 16-14. The Sharks fought back and evened the set at 20-20. Kylie Nott came up large in the late stages and put three kills down in the next five points. This stretch resulted in a 24-21 lead for the Knights. T. Fucka put the set away and evened the match with a cross-court kill. Set number two ended 25-21 in FDU's favor.

FDU's defense was able to slow down the Sharks, holding them to a .128 hitting percentage and just 10 kills. The Knights smashed 20 kills at a .292 clip in the set.

The Sharks outclassed FDU in set number three. They opened the frame on a 13-5 run and never looked back. Their lead grew to 11 three times en route to a 25-14 victory. The Sharks hit a .414 clip in the set and held the Knights to under .100.

FDU hung around early in the fourth set, but that quickly changed after a 9-1 LIU run gave them a 13-4 lead. The Knights cut the lead to six multiple times but never came any closer as the LIU momentum was too much to overcome. LIU finished the set on an 8-2 run and closed it out 25-13.

This concludes the Knights' 2023-24 campaign, in which the team set a program-record for NEC wins. Rebeka Fucka and Tatijana Fucka were both named to the All-NEC tournament team. LIU will advance to the NCAA tournament after securing their first championship since 2017.
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