Box Score

NEWARK, NJ—In a women's volleyball match filled with shifting dominant scoring runs, it was visiting Fairleigh Dickinson that came out on top, defeating NJIT, 3-1, on Senior Day for the Highlanders Sunday afternoon in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.
 
FDU (3-21) rolled in the first set, 25-14, but NJIT (7-12) mirrored that dominance in the second set, dropping the Knights by an identical 25-14 score. The final two sets of the day, both won by Fairleigh, ended with scores of 25-22 and 25-23, but those frames, too, contained scoring runs.
 
What was likely the turning point on Sunday came in the third set. With the match even at a set apiece, NJIT stormed to a 10-2 lead and still appeared comfortable late in the set at 22-17. However, the visitors rallied for 8 unanswered points and a 25-22 win to take a two-sets-to-one advantage.
 
The fourth set, FDU's clincher, had the most ties (4) and lead changes (2) of any of the sets, but there were still some sizeable swings. Aiming to force a deciding fifth set, NJIT built a 10-5 lead in the fourth. The Highlanders, who took the lead at 3-2, stayed on top all the way to 20-19. However, the Knights, who won the last 8 points in the prior set, closed out the match with a 12-5 finish for a 3-1 victory in sets.
 
Fairleigh Dickinson freshman Alyssa McIvor led her team with 14 kills and sophomore setter Allison Butler registered a match-best 36 assists. Taylor Roland-Buohl and Deborah Hong each served 2 aces for the Knights, who held a 5-4 team advantage in that department. Fairleigh sophomore Maddie Gibbins was a force in the middle, notching 9 blocks (3 solo, 6 assisted) and putting down 8 kills, with only 2 errors. Three Knights logged double-figures in digs, paced by Deborah Hongs 16 digs.
 
The three NJIT seniors acquitted themselves well with parents and other family having come a long distance to be part of the pre-match ceremonies honoring the trio. Cathy Leung, from California, led the attack with 14 kills, while adding an ace and on defense, 10 digs and 3 block assists.
 
Julia Colombo, whose family came in from Brazil, had a superb hitting day, putting down 12 kills in 16 swings without an error for an impressive .750 hitting percentage. Colombo served 2 aces and had 2 block assists.
 
Gretchen VonKoenig, whose mom visited from Ohio, led NJIT's defense at the net with 8 total blocks (1 solo, 7 assisted). Her 8 total blocks were a career high for the senior and also matched NJIT's 2013 high, first done by Colombo vs. Loyola (MD) on September 14.
 
Sophomore Fran Edmondson filled the columns on the box score, playing both as a hitter and as a setter. She had a team-leading 27 assists when playing setter to go with 7 kills, an ace on offense. On defense, she posted a match-best 23 digs and also had 3 block assists. Katie Goswick, the junior libero, finished with 19 digs. Danica Vukotic had 10 digs and 9 kills for the Highlanders.
 
NJIT had strong spells in all four sets, but had trouble sustaining momentum all day, except for the second set, which the Highlanders won easily. Even in the first set, which the Highlanders lost decisively at the end, 25-14, they opened the day with a 6-1 lead, but were outscored 24-8 after that.
 
The Highlanders took the lead for good in the second set at 2-1 and never looked back, leading by at least 4 points from 11-7 on.
 
As noted earlier, a solid 22-17 lead slipped away into a 22-25 defeat in the third set and in the fourth, NJIT faded from 9-3 advantage and a later 6-point lead, plus three 5-point leads to fall, 23-25.
 
The win for FDU gave the Knights a sweep of the two-match season series vs. the Highlanders. Fairleigh won the first leg, 3-2, in Teaneck back on September 18.
 
NJIT has two matches left on its 2013 schedule. The Highlanders will travel to Baltimore for a contest at Coppin State on Friday at 7 pm and then close the year with a home match vs. Iona on Thursday, November 14 at 7 pm in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.