New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score BOX SCORE
GAME PROGRAM/NOTES

JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com)...Rutgers University-Camden posted double digit kills in all three sets and the Scarlet Raptors cruised in the first and third sets while rallying late in the second game to sweep a New Jersey Athletic Conference women's volleyball match from New Jersey City University, 3-0 (25-13, 26-24, 25-12) on October 18 on 'Coach Charlie Brown Court' at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center.
 
The match was NJCU's designated 2012 Dig Pink match, in recognition of October being National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the Gothic Knights wore special pink uniforms.
 
The win was the fifth straight for the Raptors who improve to 18-5 (5-2 NJAC) and equal that program's single-season wins record set in 2010 (18-13). NJCU fell to 7-17 (0-7 NJAC). The Knights continue to lead the all-time series, 15-4, but R-C has won the last four meetings.
 
Camden had a nearly 2-to-1 advantage in kills (40-21) and hit .271 as a team with 40 kills and only 14 errors (96 attempts).
 
The Raptors were just the seventh team in 24 matches to hit better than .250 against NJCU this season and were led by the offense of 6-foot-2 junior middle hitter Morgan Halbruner (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern Regional), who hit .471 with 10 kills against two errors (17 swings).
 
NJCU sophomore outside hitter JADE MEDLEY (Queens, NY/Hudson Catholic) led the hosts with eight of its 21 kills (8-5-19, .158), five digs and two service aces.
 
Junior 6-foot-0 outside hitter Marissa Kozlowski (San Diego, CA/Temecula Valley) had a match-best .500 attack rate with six kills and no errors (12 attempts), adding three aces. Freshman middle hitter Olivia Rowland (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) added eight kills and hit .375 (8-2-16) while senior middle Kristin Koloski (Cinnaminson, NJ/Cinnaminson) collected seven kills (7-4-17, .176) and two blocks.
 
Also for the visitors, senior setter Stephanie Miller (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) provided 20 assists and sophomore setter Michelle Dixon (Sicklerville, NJ/Eastern) added 14 assists and four aces. Senior libero Catherine Tadeja (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East), a four-time NJAC Defensive Player of the Week this season, tallied a match-best 12 digs.
 
For NJCU, senior setter KIARA MARTINEZ (Newark, NJ/East Side) dished 16 assists and four digs.  Sophomore libero CINDY GARCIA (West New York, NJ/Memorial) and sophomore defensive specialist JAMIKA STEVENSON (Jersey City, NJ/Hoboken) each registered eight digs.
 
Camden never trailed in the opening game and scored 17 of its 25 points via kills, smashing a .412 percentage as a team with only three errors in 34 attempts. Halbruner (4-0-7, .571) and Rowland (4-1-7, .429) each had four kills in the period and posted high percentages while Kozlowski was a perfect 3-for-3 on attack. NJCU could only muster six kills in the game. NJCU trailed 14-10 before the Raptors collected 11 of the final 14 points, winning the set on back-to-back winners by Halbruner.
 
NJCU's best chance at extending the match came in the second set when there were eight ties and four lead changes, and the Knights outhit Camden, .194 (11-5-31) to .135 (12-7-37). Medley came alive in the game with six of her eight kills and hit .400 overall (6-2-10). Rowland hit .600 (3-0-5) and Halbruner added a .429 clip with four kills (4-1-7).
 
Trailing 22-19, NJCU unleashed a 5-1 run to claim a 24-23 advantage. After a long rally was won by NJCU, the Raptors committed three straight attack errors, including a combo block by Medley and senior middle hitter BRITTANY EREZUMA (Kearny, NJ/Kearny), who had three kills on the night. A ball-handling error on Miller gave NJCU set point. But Medley's attack sailed long to even it at 24-24, Rowland put the guests ahead with a kill and Dixon served an ace to clinch a 26-24 win.
 
In game three, the Raptors jumped out to leads of 7-1 behind the serving of Kozlowski and extended its advantage to 15-5 before prevailing by 12 points. The Raptors held an 11-4 cushion in kills and hit .280 as a team in the final game (11-4-25), while limiting NJCU to four kills and five attack errors. R-C served five of its 12 aces in the third set.
 
NJCU is back on the road tomorrow night (Friday, October 19) at 7 p.m. when it faces King's College (Pa.) in a non-conference match in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; Camden plays on October 20 at Delaware Valley College at 10 a.m.