CAMDEN, NJ…New Jersey City University was the coaches’ pre-season favorite to win the New Jersey Athletic Conference championship this year, and if any opponent is to upset the Gothic Knights, they will now have to do so in Jersey City, where NJCU owns a 40-match home court winning streak. On Tuesday, NJCU swept Rutgers University-Camden, 3-0 (30-11, 30-12, 30-13) to win the NJAC regular season championship for the second time in three years, and in doing so, wrapped up home court advantage throughout next month’s conference tournament.
NJCU improved to 25-4 overall and 7-0 in the league, extending the second-longest winning streak in school history to 13 straight. NJCU has also won 21 consecutive games—eight shy of the 2004 record of 29 straight—and improved to 17-0 this year in three-game matches. Camden (0-21, 0-7 NJAC) dropped its 23rd straight match dating to last season. NJCU leads the all-time series, 14-0, all via sweeps.
It is the fourth consecutive year NJCU has won at least 25 matches in a season and the fifth time in program history. NJCU’s only other regular season NJAC title came in 2005, when the Knights went 7-0 and claimed the NJAC championship. NJCU also clinched a first round bye in the NJAC Tournament for the third year in a row.
In a match where NJCU had nearly five times as many kills as did the Scarlet Raptors (37-to-8), it was senior middle blocker
LIZZELLE CINTRON (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth) leading the way with a staggering .708 hitting percentage, as she slugged 19 kills (19-2-24), added five digs and four blocks. Two of her blocks were solo rejections, eclipsing the 300 mark for her career.
With the 19 kills, Cintron increased her career total to 2,787 in 474 games. She needs 12 more kills to pass Division I Ohio State University’s Stacey Gordon (2001-04; 2,798 kills) for sixth place in Division I, II and III history.
Freshman setter
ALEX JOHANESEN (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) paced an offense which hit .299 (37-14-77) as she provided 23 assists and two service aces. Senior setter
NADIA DaSILVA DUCOS (Newark, NJ/Science) had nine assists and two blocks.
Senior
GLORINELL PEREZ (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth), who has served as libero for most of the season, had a chance to play front row and delivered five kills, seven digs, and three of NJCU’s 14 aces. Sophomore middle blocker
JENNIFER HATCH (Paterson, NJ/Mary Help of Christians Academy) had eight digs and three aces, and junior opposite
SARAH TORRES (Elizabeth, NJ/Science) tallied three aces.
For Rutgers-Camden, junior middle blocker Marci Polite (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) notched three kills and seven digs, while sophomore Julie Lo (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill West) added eight digs. The Raptors hit -.247 overall (8-26-73).
NJCU will look to wrap-up an NJAC regular season with a perfect record for the second time in school history when the Knights return to action on Tuesday, October 23 in a 7 p.m. home contest against Rowan University.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
