NEWARK, NJ—Visiting Fairleigh Dickinson came back from a 2-1 deficit to nip NJIT, 3-2, on women's volleyball Senior Night Wednesday in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.

NJIT honored its two seniors, Agnieszka Pregowska and Danielle Thompson, in ceremonies before the final home match of the season.

Unfortunately for the Highlanders, the home finale ended much the way the final regular season away match at Delaware State ended, with the opposition scoring a slim 3-2 win in a contest between closely-matched teams.

FDU twice fell behind by a set, but rebounded each time before taking the decisive set in a 21-25, 25-18, 22-25, 25-22, 15-11 victory.

The Knights, who lost at home, 3-0, to NJIT back on September 24, are 15-13 on the season, while the Highlanders are 17-13.

Neither team was especially efficient hitting in the lengthy two-hour, 14-minute match, as the victorious Knights posted a low team hitting percentage of .134 to .112 for the Highlanders. Each team took exactly 134 swings, with FDU getting 55 kills and making 31 errors, while NJIT had 52 kills and 32 errors.

The blocking, too, was nearly even, with Fairleigh logging a 9-to-8.5 edge in team blocks. The Knights finished with eight service aces to four for the Highlanders.

FDU senior Lauren Boothby finished with a match best 20 kills, while sisters Ali and Megan Philbrick added 14 and 12 kills, respectively.

NJIT also had three players with double-figure kills totals, led by freshman Renata Pandolfo, with 16. Pregowska had 11 in her final college home match and Baaba Hughes got 10 kills.

Erica Schultz of the Highlanders was the match assists leader, with 39, and FDU setter Karolina Kowalski finished with 34 assists.

One of the reasons for the low hitting percentages was a lot of digging by both teams to keep the ball alive for long points. That statistical category was close, as well, with NJIT enjoying an 84-81 margin.

Sabrina Baby of NJIT finished with 30 digs, followed by Pandolfo's 17 and 13 for Katrina Hornstein.

Four Knights reached double figures in digs, paced by 21 for Ali Philbrick.

FDU had an 8-4 lead in service aces, but NJIT's Baby was the top individual server, posting three aces. Jennifer Brugger and Kelsey Semler each had two aces for the Knights.

Typical of the match, the first set was tight all the way until NJIT broke a 20-20 on a kill by Pregowska, who had four kills on six swings in the set, triggered a 5-1 spurt that enabled the Highlanders to claim a 25-21 win.

NJIT took an 8-4 lead to start the second set, but the visitors wrested control with a 12-1 spurt that put the Knights on top, 16-9. They eventually went up, 20-11, on a Boothby kill and coasted to a 25-18 win that tied the match at a set apiece. Ali Philbrick led the way for Fairleigh, with six kills and no errors in the set.

It was the Highlanders' turn to come back from an early deficit, as FDU opened up the third set with a 6-1 lead. The Knights still led, 12-6, before NJIT rallied for seven straight points that included three kills for Hughes and two aces for Baby that gave NJIT a 13-12 lead. Neither team led by more than the final margin of three points the rest of the way in the Highlanders' 25-22 win. Pregowska again paced the NJIT attack with four kills in the set.

Facing defeat in the match, FDU never trailed the fourth set and held a 21-14 lead before holding off a rally that enabled NJIT to close to within a point, 22-23, before the Knights got the last two points of the set on Highlander attack errors.

NJIT grabbed a 3-0 lead at the beginning of the fifth set, but FDU recovered and used a 7-1 run to regain control, 7-4. The Knights actually went ahead for good, 4-3, on a block by Megan Philbrick and Boothby and NJIT only got within a point of the lead one more time at 8-9. Boothby was dominant in the deciding set, notching seven kills on just nine swings.

Pregowska and Thompson are the last two NJIT players who competed in Division II. As freshmen in 2005 they were the top hitter and setter, respectively, for the school's last Division II team.

Pregowska finished fourth in the nation for kills per game in Division II that year and Thompson averaged better than nine assists per game.

They have both continued as key players in NJIT's first three seasons of Division I competition, helping the Highlanders go from 10 wins in the first season (2006) to 13 in 2007 and now 17 in 2008—the highest season wins total for the program since it was in Division III and posted a 23-12 record in 1990.

They both rank among the school Division I career leaders in multiple categories and Pregowska was voted to the national Division I Independent second team following the 2007 season.

The Highlanders are off until November 21, when they will begin play in the National Division I Independent tournament in Orem, UT. The tournament host is Utah Valley University.