New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score BOX SCORE
GAME PROGRAM/NOTES

 JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com)...Kean University used its noticeable size to power down 36 kills and held off an improved performance by the New Jersey City University women's volleyball team to sweep a New Jersey Athletic Conference match, 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-22) on October 11 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center on 'Coach Charlie Brown Court.'
 
Kean (16-6, 5-2 NJAC) wins for the fifth time in six matches and clinches no worse than a quarterfinal home match in the NJAC Quarterfinals later this month. NJCU (5-14, 0-6 NJAC) is eliminated from tournament contention with the loss. Kean leads the all-time series, 30-7.
 
The Cougars hit .233 overall and landed 11 service aces. The Gothic Knights did put away 24 kills (24-19-86, .058) and held leads in all three periods.
 
In defeat, sophomore outside hitter JADE MEDLEY (Queens, NY/Hudson Catholic) hit .300 with nearly half of NJCU's kills, putting away 10 winners (four errors, 20 attempts), while adding five digs and two blocks. She notched her fourth double-digit kill effort of the season and 12^th of her career.
 
Junior middle hitter Kaitlyn Hansen (Edison, NJ/Edison Township) at 6-foot-1, was five inches taller than Medley—NJCU's tallest player—and used her size to dominate, posting a .550 attack percentage with 11 kills and no errors (20 attempts), while chipping in three aces and two blocks.
 
Freshman 6-foot-0 middle hitter Rachael Wells (Averill Park, NY/Averill Park) uncorked six aces, while tacking on four kills. Junior setter Kehaulani Vegas (Maui, HI/Glenwood Springs (Colo.) delivered 28 assists and seven digs, with a pair of aces.
 
Also for the Cougars, sophomore outside hitter Aysia Peterson (Scotch Plains, NJ/Scotch Plains-Fanwood) hit .263 with eight kills (8-3-19) and sophomore outside Alix Denison (Fort Collins, CO/Rocky Mountain) tallied six kills and a .250 percentage (6-1-20) in two sets.
 
Senior setter KIARA MARTINEZ (Newark, NJ/East Side) dished 21 assists and five digs while sophomore libero CINDY GARCIA (West New York, NJ/Memorial) defended a match-high 13 digs. She now has 11 double digit digs effort overall this season and 24 in two seasons as part of the program. Sophomore outside hitter MARISSA SCARPA (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) collected seven kills, four digs, and two aces. Senior middle blocker BRITTANY EREZUMA (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) stuffed three blocks and had three kills.
 
Kean had double digit kills in each set and hit .240 in the opening game (11-5-25) while the Knights were held in the red on attack (-.080, 6-8-25). The set was tight early before Kean jumped out to a 20-13 lead. Hansen had four kills in the game as the Cougars won by eight points.
 
Kean's percentage was better in the second set at .357 as a team on 12 kills and only two errors, with Denison flooring four kills (no errors) in nine swings. There were 10 ties and four lead changes in the game. But after an 18-18 deadlock, the visitors scored the final seven points of the set—including six behind the serving of Wells, who unleashed three aces for the 21^st, 23^rd and 24^th points before a Hansen kill ended the game.
 
The third set was NJCU's best chance at extending the match with four more lead changes and seven ties. The Knights outhit the Cougars in the period, .200 (10-4-30) to .135 (13-8-37), led by Medley who planted six kills in nine swings (one errors) and hit .556. Hansen also had five kills (no errors) in nine attacks in the game for Kean. Tied 20-20 after a Medley winner and 21-21 with a kill by Scarpa, Kean would rally to close out the match by converting four of the final five points. NJCU had serve, trailing 23-22, before a combo block by Wells and Denison and a Wells kill on match point sealed it.
 
NJCU will look to return to the win column when it competes in a non-conference tri-match on Saturday, October 13 in Morristown, NJ. The Knights face host College of St. Elizabeth at 11 a.m., followed by a 1 p.m. neutral court contest against Medgar Evers College. Kean is home tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. against Muhlenberg College.