UNION, NJ…The New Jersey City University women’s volleyball team provided perfection and milestones all in one evening, as the Gothic Knights completed the 2005 New Jersey Athletic Conference schedule with a 7-0 record, and registered the 300th win in school history, in a 3-0 (30-19, 30-25, 30-28) sweep of Kean University late Tuesday at Harwood Arena.
NJCU improved to 24-5 overall with its 11 consecutive victory and 20th in 21 matches, and at 7-0 in the league, became the first NJCU team in any men’s or women’s sport to finish undefeated in the conference standings since men’s basketball went 10-0 in 1979-80, en route to an appearance in the NCAA Elite 8.
NJCU reached the 300-victory milestone in the 23
rd year of the program, and amazingly accomplished the feat just one year after recording win No. 250. After the 2003 season, NJCU was 246-368 in 21 seasons, for a .401 winning percentage. However, in the last two seasons, under the guidance of head coach
CHRISTOPHER FELICIANO, the program is 54-11, for a .831 winning rate, and now own a 300-379 ledger in its history (.442).
On October 13, NJCU clinched the NJAC regular season championship for the first time in any women’s sport and will be the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament beginning next week.
The match was also historic for Kean (13-15, 2-5 NJAC), which was playing the first contest in any sport at its new 3000-seat arena.
Sophomore middle blocker
LIZZELLE CINTRON (Newark, NJ/Elizabeth) hit .545 overall with 14 kills and only two errors (14-2-22), and added 12 digs, three blocks, and two aces for the Knights. NJCU hit a collective .347 as a team with 47 kills and only 13 errors.
Freshman outside hitter
JACQUELINE LeBLANC (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) matched
Cintron with 14 kills, hit .242, and added six digs and two blocks.
Sophomore outside hitter
GLORINELL PEREZ (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth) defended a match-high 14 digs, and was errorless on attack with five kills in 13 tries (.385). Sophomore middle blocker
MEAGAN ROBERTS (Union, NJ/Union) hit .375 with nine kills and three blocks.
Freshman setter
SOFIA GUTIERREZ (Piscataway, NJ/Piscataway) delivered 19 assists and sophomore setter
NADIA DASILVA (Newark, NJ/Science) added 18.
Junior outside hitter Elizabeth Bauer (Rahway, NJ/Rahway) recorded a match-high 17 kills (17-5-47, .255) and added a team-high eight digs. Freshman outside hitter Jennifer Carvalho (Rahway, NJ/Rahway) added 12 kills and a .357 hitting percentage (12-2-28), while freshman setter Jamie Lee (Randolph, NJ/Randolph) had 33 assists and a match-high five service aces.
NJCU plays its second match in as many days when it visits SUNY-New Paltz on October 26 at 7 p.m. in New Paltz, NY.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
