New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score GAME PROGRAM/NOTES: Inside-the-Athlete feature, SHEGE HAXHAJ

JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Montclair State University had a 38-11 advantage in kills, including 22-6 in the final two games when the Red Hawks never trailed as MSU defeated host New Jersey City University, 3-0 (25-16, 25-10, 25-12) in a New Jersey Athletic Conference women's volleyball match on September 24 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center on 'Coach Charlie Brown Court.'
 
MSU (5-5, 1-1 NJAC) hit .267 as a team with 38 kills versus 14 errors (90 attempts), with notable efficiency in the second and third sets when the Hawks hit .389 (9-2-18) and .345 (13-3-29), respectively. NJCU, which had won three of its last four matches, fell to 4-9 (0-2 NJAC).
 
MSU rookie outside hitter Courtney Matlock (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial) didn't start but once she entered proved to be the offensive difference maker. She slammed 15 kills—four more than the entire NJCU squad—and hit .500 with just two attack errors on 26 swings. She added two blocks.  Her most impressive work came in game one when she slammed nine kills without an error (14 attempts) for a .643 percentage.
 
Junior setter Angela Campo (Washington Township, NJ/Westwood) quarterbacked MSU with a .466 setting percentage and 34 assists. Rookie outside Melissa Terpstra (Midland Park, NJ/Midland Park) had five kills on a .286 rate (5-1-14), nine digs and four of MSU's 10 service aces.
 
Also for MSU, freshman defensive specialist Samantha Szura (Hewitt, NJ/Ramapo) and senior defensive specialist Kimberly Butrico (Cresskill, NJ/Cresskill) each finished with eight digs. Senior outside Sara Girgus (Green Brook, NJ/Watchung Hills) had four kills in eight attempts (.500) in two sets.
 
In defeat for NJCU, senior libero CINDY GARCIA (West New York, NJ/Memorial), the reigning NJAC Defensive Player of the Week, had a match-high 10 digs—the 38^th time in her career she's gone into double figures in the defensive category.
 
Junior setter MADELYN LEON (West New York, NJ/Memorial) finished with 10 assists. Freshman middle blocker SHEGE HAXHAJ (Lyndhurst, NJ/Lyndhurst) added a team-high four kills and two blocks.
 
The first set was competitive despite Montclair owning a 16-5 advantage in kills in the opening period. Despite this, NJCU led 14-13 midway through the game. But MSU took over from there, using an 8-0 run to gain a 21-14 margin and the guests scored 12 of the final 14 points of the set. Matlock had six kills during the 12-2 run.
 
MSU led at every point of the second and third sets, jumping out to a 9-0 lead in game two behind the serving of Terpstra, before opening the margin to 13-2. In game three, MSU again surged in front, this time by 7-0 and 12-1 cushions before cruising to the 3-0 win.
 
NJCU is back in action on Saturday, September 28 when it heads to La Plume, PA for a quad at Keystone College. NJCU faces Sarah Lawrence College for the second time in a week at 10 a.m. before taking on Wilkes University (2 p.m.) and host Keystone (4 p.m.).