New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score BOX SCORE
GAME PROGRAM/NOTES

JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com)...New Jersey City University overcame a sloppy performance and held on to defeat John Jay College for the 19^th consecutive meeting since 1995, as NJCU prevailed in a non-conference  women's volleyball match, 3-1 (25-22, 25-21, 14-25, 25-19) on October 15 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center on 'Coach Charlie Brown Court.'
 
NJCU (7-15) wins its second straight match to equal the win total from each of the last two seasons. John Jay (1-15) dropped its 10^th match in a row. NJCU leads the all-time series, 23-2.
 
The Gothic Knights committed a combined 59 errors in the match (26 attack, two setting, 14 service, 12 reception, two blocking, one ball handling). John Jay snapped a 32-set losing streak when it took game three.
 
Senior middle blocker BRITTANY EREZUMA (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) hit .111 and had a match-high eight kills (8-5-27), six digs and one solo block and sophomore outside hitter MARISSA SCARPA (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) equaled Erezuma with eight winners, while contributing nine digs and four aces. Sophomore outside hitter JADE MEDLEY (Queens, NY/Hudson Catholic) had seven kills (7-5-27, .074) as those three players combined for 23 of NJCU's 33 kills.
 
Senior setter KIARA MARTINEZ (Newark, NJ/East Side) contributed 29 assists. Sophomore libero CINDY GARCIA (West New York, NJ/Memorial) defended 13 digs for her 26^th career double figure digs effort (13^th of season) while sophomore JAMIKA STEVENSON (Jersey City, NJ/Hoboken) added her fifth double digit digs mark of the year with 11.
 
John Jay sophomore setter Katherine Bonilla (Long Island City, NY/Information Technology) led JJC with a double-double of 26 assists and 20 digs, adding four aces. Freshman outside hitter Sarah Young (Hampton Bays, NY/Hampton Bays) finished with seven kills (7-5-19, .105) and three aces while sophomore middle hitter Hakimah Lovell-McFee (Brooklyn, NY/NYC Museum School) tallied seven kills and hit .174 (7-3-23).
 
Freshman middle hitter Latanya Buckham (Pelham, NY/Pelham Memorial) collected a match-best .500 attack  percentage, landing five kills (one error) in eight attempts. Junior middle Martina Hot (Glendale, NY/Academic of American Studies) chipped in 11 digs.
 
In a first set with seven ties and three lead changes, each team hit in the red; John Jay had 11 attack errors. Tied at 20-20, three straight JJC errors put NJCU ahead 23-20 before a kill and solo block, both by Erezuma, sealed a 25-22 win.
 
NJCU never trailed in the second set but John Jay tightened up the game late. NJCU led 22-15 before JJC got a kill and three consecutive aces by Young, followed by a solo block by Lovell-McFee to make it a 22-20 contest. A kill by Erezuma followed by a pair of visitor errors gave NJCU the second game, 25-21.
 
John Jay never trailed in a lackluster third set in which the Knights hit -.129 with five kills and nine errors. John Jay landed seven kills versus two errors and hit .200. The Bloodhounds led 12-8 before scoring seven of the next nine points to claim a 19-10 advantage, eventually winning by 11, 25-14.
 
Offensively NJCU came out much stronger in the fourth set, hitting .276 as a team with 13 kills and only five errors (29 attempts). Scarpa hit .333 in the set with five kills while sophomore middle hitter INDIGO HATCHER (Jersey City, NJ/Lincoln) hit .800 in the game with four kills in five swings. Erezuma also stepped up, hitting .600 with three kills in five swings. Tied at seven, NJCU was able to jump out to a 14-9 lead after a pair of Hatcher winners and extended the lead to 23-15 on back-to-back kills by Erezuma and a winner by Scarpa. John Jay pulled within 23-19 before Scarpa sealed the win with back-to-back kills for the 24^th and 25^th points.
 
NJCU returns to non-conference action tomorrow (Tuesday, October 16) at 7 p.m. when it visits the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) in Kings Point, NY. John Jay will compete in the Crab Tree Classic on October 20.