BOX SCORE
LIZZELLE CINTRON'S CAREER ENDS WITH 2,894 KILLS
JERSEY CITY, NJ…Perennial national powerhouse New York University is used to playing big matches and the experience of the Violets' program was on display on Wednesday. NYU limited New Jersey City University to a .091 hitting percentage—the Gothic Knights' lowest in almost four years—and held senior middle blocker and 19-time NJAC Player of the Week LIZZELLE CINTRON (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth) to 19 kills, as the #7 seeded Violets eliminated defending champion and #2 seeded NJCU, 3-1 (30-20, 29-31, 30-22, 30-19), in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III South Quarterfinals played at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center.
With the win, NYU (19-18), which was making its sixth consecutive post-season appearance, but in the ECACs rather than the NCAA Tournament where it has historically made a mark, advances to the ECAC Semifinals. The Violets will face No. 3 seeded Carnegie Mellon University (21-15) in Pittsburgh, PA on Saturday, November 10. CMU defeated #6 Penn State-Altoona, 3-0, in another quarterfinal.
NJCU's season comes to a close at 28-6 overall, losing its final two matches of the year and only its second at home in the careers of the senior class who had a 43-match home court streak snapped in the NJAC Finals on November 3. It was the first time NJCU had lost two straight matches at home since October 18 and 21, 2003. As a team, the Knights finished the most successful four-year stretch in school history with a 119-28 record in 147 matches (.810).
NJCU was appearing in the post-season for the fourth consecutive year—the only four times the Knights have reached the postseason in program history. With the loss, NJCU is 3-3 all-time in the ECACs and 3-4 in all post-season play.
This was the first meeting between NJCU and NYU since October 19, 1997. NYU is 9-0 all-time again the Knights; this was the first match that did not result in a sweep.
NYU's defense limited NJCU to a .091 attack percentage (39-27-132), the lowest the Knights have hit as a team in their last 130 matches. It was the lowest percentage since hitting .082 against Rowan University on October 2, 2004.
In defeat, Cintron had 19 kills (19-10-45, .200), nine digs and seven blocks. She concluded her remarkable four-year career with 2,894 kills in 491 games—fifth in Division I, II and III history and third among Division III athletes. She has the most kills of any player whose career came entirely in the rally scoring era (2001-present).
Three NYU players reached double figures in kills as the Violets had 68 kills overall and hit .236 (68-30-161). Senior outside hitter Nicole Lubell (Lodi, NJ/St. Mary's) became the first player to post 20 kills against NJCU this year, as she hit .436 with 21 winners (21-4-39). Freshman outside hitter Bethany Burr (Springville, UT/Springville) collected 12 kills (12-4-26) and hit .308, while freshman middle blocker Erin Noonan (San Diego, CA/Torrey Pines) tallied 10 kills (10-6026, .154) and two aces.
Freshman setter Annie Baer (La Selva Beach, CA/Aptos) contributed 32 assists, while sophomore setter Michaela Hammond (Albuquerque, NM/Albuquerque Academy) had 23 assists. Freshman libero Rachel Sawyer (Whitmore Lake, MI/Whitmore Lake) defended 17 digs and landed four aces, and junior Stacey Goto (Glendale, CA/Polytechnic) had 14 digs and six kills. Freshman middle blocker Julia Rickert (Bethesda, MD/Walt Whitman) and freshman outside hitter Adrienne Spohr (Tahoe City, CA/Miramonte) combined for 14 kills and three blocks.
For NJCU, Cintron concluded her career with 2,894 kills, 3,604.5 points, and 653 total blocks—all among her numerous all-time records, while adding one ace to finish fourth in that category with 229.
In defeat, freshman setter
ALEX JOHANESEN (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) dished 27 assists and two aces. Senior libero
GLORINELL PEREZ (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth) chipped in a team-high 14 digs to conclude her career with a program best 2,073 digs. Senior setter
NADIA DaSILVA DUCOS (Newark, NJ/Science) had five assists, finishing with a school record 2,677 assists.
Also for NJCU, junior outside hitter
JENNIFER CARVALHO (Rahway, NJ/Rahway) and junior opposite
SARAH TORRES (Elizabeth, NJ/Science) each had seven kills and two blocks.
In a close first game, NJCU took a 14-13 lead on a block by Cintron and Torres. But an 8-1 run by the Violets made it 21-15 as Noonan had three kills during the spurt. Consecutive kills by Rickert made it 26-17, and she added another kill on game point for a 30-20 margin.
NYU led most of game two, and owned a decisive 26-20 margin after a Lubell winner. But after an NJCU timeout, the Knights stormed back. A kill and ace by Carvalho and two NYU errors made it 26-24. NYU moved ahead 29-25, after a Lubell kill and two more NJCU attack errors. But NJCU would score the final six points of the game. A Cintron slam followed by three straight NYU errors tied it at 29-29. A kill by sophomore outside hitter
MICHELLE CINTRON (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth) gave NJCU a 30-29 edge, and a solo block by sophomore middle hitter
JENNIFER HATCH (Paterson, NJ/Mary Help of Christians) sealed a 31-29 win to tie the match.
But NYU opened up game three leads of 5-1, 10-4, and 16-11 and cruised to a 30-22 win in the frame. Lubell was dominant in the game, hitting .857 in the third set alone with a line of 6-0-7.
NYU also opened up a commanding lead in game four. A 5-3 lead quickly turned into a 15-6 cushion thanks to a 10-3 run. A kill by Torres allowed NJCU to draw within six, 21-15, but that was as close as the Knights could get the remainder of the game.
Lizzelle Cintron's final two career kills made it 29-17, before a kill by Burr and an ace by Sawyer capped the NYU win.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
