New Jersey City University Athletics

 

 

JERSEY CITY, NJ…Junior middle blocker LIZZELLE CINTRON (Newark, NJ/Elizabeth) planted 15 kills, four aces and hit .565 and sophomore outside hitter JACQUELINE LeBLANC (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) notched 11 kills and posted a .429 percentage, as New Jersey City University hit .405 as a team and swept Kean University, 3-0, by scores of 30-27, 30-16, 30-11, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference contest at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center.

 

NJCU, the defending NJAC champions, has never lost at home in the three-year career of head coach CHRISTOPHER FELICIANO, and have now won 14 of its last 15 NJAC regular season and tournament matches.

 

The Gothic Knights improve to 22-6 overall and 5-1 in the league, while Kean (11-12, 3-4 NJAC) loses for the eighth time in its last nine matches. The Cougars lead the all-time series, 27-4, but NJCU has won three of the last four meetings between the clubs.

 

With Richard Stockton College’s 3-2 road win at Rutgers-Newark on Thursday, NJCU is in second place in the NJAC standings, and depending on the results of the final two conference matches of the season, could be in line for the No. 2 seed in the NJAC Tournament and a bye into the semifinals.

 

Cintron moved into 26^th place in Division III history in total kills with 1,976, and increased her career points total to 2,492.5. She will likely reach the 2,000-kill and 2,500-point plateaus this weekend. For the match, she hit .565 with the 15 kills and only two attack errors (15-2-23) and four aces.

 

LeBlanc collected 11 kills and only made two errors (11-2-21) for her .429 ratio. Freshman outside hitter MICHELLE CINTRON (Newark, NJ/Elizabeth) added eight kills (8-3-13), a .385 percentage, and two assisted blocks.

 

Sophomore setter SOFIA GUTIERREZ (Piscataway, NJ/Piscataway) disbursed 36 assists to quarterback an offense which hit .405, with 41 kills overall (41-11-74).

 

Sophomore middle blocker SARAH TORRES (Elizabeth, NJ/Science) returned to the lineup after missing three matches. In two games, she hit .444 with five kills (5-1-9) and two aces.

 

Kean received a double-double of 10 kills (10-2021) and 13 digs, along with six blocks (three solo) and a .381 percentage from senior opposite Elizabeth Bauer (Rahway, NJ/Rahway). Junior outside hitter Alicja Ciastoch (Teaneck, NJ/Immaculate Conception) added 13 digs and four kills.

 

The Cougars also received 16 assists from freshman setter Colleen Masterson (Rahway, NJ/Roselle Catholic) in two games before she left with an injury. Junior middle blocker Corinne O’Toole (Garfield, NJ/Garfield) tallied three blocks.

 

Kean looked to surprise the Knights in game one, and held a 26-24 lead after an NJCU attack error. But the resilient NJCU club finished the game on a 6-1 run to win 30-27. LeBlanc had three kills during the rally, including a lunging tip off a dig that at the time tied the game at 26-26.

 

Game two was also tight at 14-13, before NJCU scored 16 of the final 19 points of the frame. The Knights took control at 18-14 when Lizzelle and MICHELLE CINTRON posted back to back kills.

Consecutive kills by LIZZELLE CINTRON made it 23-15, and her ace made it 26-16. The Knights sealed the game on a combined block by Torres and MICHELLE CINTRON.

 

NJCU controlled game three from the start, opening an 8-3 lead, which extended to 14-5 after a LeBlanc ace and a Kean error. Consecutive aces by Torres increased the lead to 20-6, and the Knights cruised to a 30-11 win.

 

NJCU will return to action on Saturday, October 14 when it hosts the 13^th annual Gothic Knight Invitational. Included in the four-team tournament will be St. Joseph’s College (NY), Lehman College, and NJAC rival William Paterson University. Kean next plays on Tuesday, October 17 at Centenary College.