New Jersey City University Athletics

 

 

JERSEY CITY, NJ…On Senior Night at New Jersey City University, it was the three seniors who have led NJCU to a 118-26 record the last four seasons that dominated as the Gothic Knights hit .400 as a team and crushed Lehman College, 3-0 (30-9, 30-5, 30-10) in a non-conference match at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center.

 

NJCU wins its 42^nd consecutive home court match to improve to 27-4 overall on the season, and is 42-0 at home during the careers of senior middle blocker LIZZELLE CINTRON (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth), senior setter NADIA DaSILVA DUCOS (Newark, NJ/Science) and senior libero/outside hitter GLORINELL PEREZ (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth). Lehman (8-14) saw its two match winning streak snapped. NJCU leads the all-time series, 18-8, with six straight wins against the Lightning.

 

The win for NJCU extends the second-longest winning streak in school history to 15 straight matches and 27 consecutive games. NJCU is two games shy of matching the longest streak of 29 set in 2004, and the Knights are now 19-0 this year in three-game matches. NJCU is 37-1 in three-game matches over the last two seasons and 74-9 over the last four years.

 

As a team, NJCU uncorked 25 service aces—the second most in a match this season and fifth most in program history.

 

On a night where three players for NJCU had equal or more than the number of kills Lehman managed as a club, it was Cintron posting more milestones, as she recorded the 3,500^th point of her remarkable career, coming on the third kill in the first game. She hit .667 overall, with 11 kills (11-1-15), seven digs, and four blocks (two solo). She increased her career kills total to 2,818 and she needs only 32 more to move into fifth place in kills in Division I, II and III history.

 

Perez played both libero and outside hitter and finished with a .667 percentage on six kills (6-0-9), seven aces and seven digs. DaSilva Ducos dished 17 assists.

 

Sophomore middle hitter JENNIFER HATCH (Paterson, NJ/Mary Help of Christians) hit .833 with five kills (5-0-6), while sophomore outside hitter/defensive specialist MELISSA LOO (Rutherford, NJ/Rutherford) landed four kills and hit .500 (4-0-8).

 

Freshman setter ALEX JOHANESEN (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) added nine assists and five aces. Junior defensive specialist LYANELLY NEGRON (Union, NJ/Union) finished with five aces.

 

In the final match of the regular season, NJCU only hit .167 in game one (10-6-24) but pummeled the ball in game two for a sensational .714 percentage (10-0-14), before a .438 rate in game three (16-2-32).

 

Lehman hit -.245 overall and had five kills as a team (5-17-49). In defeat, senior outside hitter Yohanna Sufran (Manhattan, NY/Washington Irving) had a match-high nine digs.

 

NJCU will return to action on Thursday, November 1 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference semifinals where the top-seeded and NJAC regular season champion Knights will host the winner of Tuesday’s quarterfinal match between Ramapo College and Rowan University. Lehman next plays on Saturday, October 27 at 7 p.m. against Rutgers-Newark in Newark, NJ.