A stormy Saturday in eastern Pennsylvania turned muggy for FDU after the Knights dropped the final two matches of the Steel Classic hosted by Lehigh. The losses at the hands of Virginia Tech and Lehigh drops the Knights' record to 1-9.
VIRGINIA TECH 3, FDU 1 (28-26, 23-25, 25-19, 25-11)
In the opening frame of the morning tilt, neither the Knights nor the Hokies could create any separation. However, this changed when Virginia Tech utilized a 4-0 spurt to take a 17-13 lead. Thanks to some timely Hokie mistakes and offense from the Fucka twins, the Knights were able to storm back and earn a 24-22 lead. Despite three set points, FDU could not to put away a resilient Virginia Tech squad. The Hokies took set one in extras. 28-26.
Virginia Tech kept their foot on the pedal and jumped out to a 14-8 lead in the second set. This time it was the Knights turn to steal a frame. They finished the set on a 17-9 run that tied the match at one a piece. 25-23.
FDU held the Hokies attack right at the "Mendoza line" as Virginia Tech hit at a .20 clip in the set.
Unfortunately, the Knights could not ride their newfound momentum into the third set. With a tight score of 10-9 in the Hokies favor, Virginia Tech surged ahead to win 5 of the next 7 points, in route to taking a 15-11 lead. FDU would cut the lead to three once but never any closer as the Hokies closed out the set. 25-19.
With the Knights on their heels, Virginia Tech exploded out of the gate in the fourth frame. In what would prove to be the final set of the night, the Hokies quickly notched a 9-2 lead. They never looked back and closed out FDU. 25-11.
The Knights totaled 44 kills on a sub-200 hitting percentage (.159). The Hokies hit .379 producing 56 kills in the process. See the box score for the full statistics.
LEHIGH 3, FDU 1 (23-25, 25-14, 25-17, 25-23)
FDU finally got to meet their hosts in the final match of the classic on Saturday night. Despite trailing by as many as four early, FDU found themselves tied with the Mountain Hawks at 20-20. After winning three of the next five points, the Knights were gifted a Lehigh attack error to earn them a set point at 24-22. Two points later,
MacKenzy Ruggiero got a kill down to give FDU the early edge in the match. 25-23.
FDU played a sound set with two blocks that helped limit Lehigh to a .235 hitting percentage.
Lehigh bounced back with an exceptional defensive performance in the second-frame. They held the Knights to five kills on 40 attempts, which put the Knights in the negatives despite only making four attack errors. The brown and white soared through the set. 25-14.
In the fourth, FDU utilized an ace and a couple of
Kylie Nott kills to earn a 4-1 lead. Due to an offensive surge from Lehigh, this advantage would not hold. The Mountain Hawks tied the match at 7-7 and then eventually rode a .306 hitting percentage to a commanding 19-11 lead. Lehigh earned four rejections in a set they would win comfortably. 25-17.
FDU's largest lead in the fourth set came at 16-13 but Lehigh was determined to close the door on the match. They tied the match at 17-17 and continued to ride that trend to a 23-21 lead that they would not relinquish. Lehigh put away FDU. 25-23.
What's Next
The Knights continue their six-game road trip with a Tuesday night matchup at Iona next week. The Gaels own the all-time series with the Knights, 3-2. However, this will be the first time these metropolitan area programs meet since 2010. Tune in to see a rivalry renewed at 7 P.M. on ESPN+.
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