New Rochelle, NY- The Iona College volleyball team earned a four-set victory (25-21, 13-25, 25-19, 28-26) over Fairleigh Dickinson in non-conference action in their 2008 home opener at the Hynes Center.  The Gaels (3-1) rebounded from a second set loss to take the final two to earn the victory over the Knights (2-3).

Junior OH Sarah Wiener and senior OH Kendall Paulus led the Gaels offensively with 15 and 14 kills a piece.  Paulus added a team-high three aces along with six digs in the win.  Freshman OH Rachelle Wilson had eight kills and four blocks and sophomore MH Colleen Genett had seven and a team-best .375 hitting percentage for Iona.  Setters Alyssa Morales and Alyssa Erickson split time at the position with Morales recording 26 assists while Erickson had 14.

Defensively, reigning MAAC Defensive Player of the Week Allison Nieters recorded her second straight 30+ dig effort with 31. She set a career-high with four assists.  Back row partner Laura Fojanesi also set a career-high with 15 digs.

Set 1:
The Gaels overcame an 11-6 deficit in the first set to earn a 25-21 win.  Iona climbed back to tie at 18-18 and scored seven of the final 10 points in the set. Wiener recorded six kills while Erickson and Paulus were both 2-for-2 in attack attempts.

Set 2:
Iona fell behind early for the second straight set but the offense fell flat hitting just .033 with only six kills for the frame.

Set 3:
The Gaels had one of their strongest sets defensively, recording 21 digs and two blocks while holding the Knights to a .067 hitting percentage in the 25-19 win.  Nieters had a season set-high of 12 digs by herself.  Iona led by as many as seven points after a kill by sophomore Bethany Schornack follwed by a FDU attack error made the score 11-4.

Set 4:
Facing set-point on two separate occasions, the Gaels scored the frame's final three points as Schornack and Wilson blocked the Knight's final attack attempt to earn the 28-26 win.  Iona led by as many as four and FDU had a set-high three point lead in the back and forth set that featured 12 ties and seven lead changes.

The Gaels have a short rest before travelling to Memphis, TN and the Tiger Invitational.  Iona takes on Memphis and Indiana State on Friday before the tourney's finale on Saturday and matchups with IUPUI and Troy.