PATCHOGUE, NY (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Keystone College used an individual 25-kill performance to overcome the New Jersey City University women's volleyball team in four sets before Wilkes University cruised in three sets as the Gothic Knights lost both matches on day two of the St. Joseph's College (LI) Tournament at the Danzi Athletic Center on October 25.
 
Keystone (10-17) downed NJCU, 3-1 by scores of 25-13, 15-25, 25-21, 25-23; the second set was NJCU's lone game won during the tournament. Wilkes (11-16) swept NJCU, 3-0 (25-6, 25-22, 25-19). NJCU dropped to 5-22 and has fallen in nine straight.
 Senior middle hitter Jade Medley (Queens, NY/Hudson Catholic) buried 16 kills and hit a staggering .565 (16-3-23) but the Gothic Knights couldn't find an answer for 5-foot-10 sophomore outside hitter Hannah Zuchowski. The Giants' standout slammed 25 kills and hit .404 (25-4-52) to account for more than half of Keystone's offense. It was her seventh match with 20 or more kills this season and third time with at least 25 kills (26, twice).
 
Freshman setter Rachel McIntyre (Drexel Hill, PA/Upper Darby) had 31 assists, seven digs, four service aces, three kills (.286, 3-1-7) and a solo blocks in a well-rounded effort in defeat while senior right side Ashley Latushko (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) finished with a .400 attack rate, eight digs and seven kills (7-1-15). Freshman libero Jacqueline Romero (West New York, NJ/Memorial) had a career-high 14 digs.
 
Also for Keystone, Shatia Silas had 10 kills and hit .273 (10-4-22) and Ciera Scepaniak collected eight kills (.200, 8-3-25), eight digs and two aces. Carol Mosier dished 39 assists. The rest of the Giants managed just five kills.
 
Keystone jumped out to leads of 10-2 and 17-5 in the first set and rolled to a 1-0 lead before NJCU countered to tie the match with a second-set win. Tied at 10-10 in set two, NJCU scored six of the next eight points, then scored five consecutive points for a 24-14 advantage.
 
In the third set, Keystone hit .333 and landed 16 kills (16-5-33) for a 2-1 lead. NJCU pounded out 16 kills in the fourth set at a .243 pace—four more than the Giants (12-6-37) and in a set that saw 11 ties and two lead changes, McIntyre helped NJCU force a tie at 23-23 with a kill from the setter position before uncorking an ace. But with NJCU trying to force a decisive fifth set, Silas and Zuchowski responded with back-to-back kills to pull out a 25-23 result.
 In the second match, Wilkes had a 35-16 margin in kills and serviced 18 aces en route to the sweep. The Colonels led wire to wire in every set.
 
Medley tallied five of NJCU's 16 kills in defeat and had two blocks. Latushko collected 11 digs and two blocks. McIntyre finished with 14 assists, seven digs and two aces in the loss.
 

Erin Nothstein made the biggest impact as she landed seven aces while dishing 19 digs. Grace Boyle led Wilkes offensively with 11 kills, adding three aces. Setter Megan Powers dished 22 assists and seven digs. Ally Paskas contributed seven kills and five aces.
 
Wilkes hit .467 in the opening set when it only tallied eight kills in 15 swings (one error) but floored nine aces. The Colonels jumped out to an insurmountable 12-0 lead in game one behind seven early aces and upped it to 17-2.
 
Despite 16 winners by Wilkes, NJCU had a chance in the second set, rallying from a 22-16 deficit to draw within one at 22-21 and again at 23-22 as McIntyre sparked the Knights with a pair of aces. A kill by Boyle and an ace by Powers thwarted the comeback bid. Leading 21-19 in the third set, Wilkes scored the final four points—including back-to-back aces by Paskas and a Boyle kill to seal the 25-19 outcome.
 
OF NOTE:

• Keystone leads the brief all-time series, 2-1. Previous meetings came in 2004 and 2013.
• Wilkes leads the also brief all-time series, 3-1. The clubs also squared off in 1994, 2005 and 2013.
• Jade Medley reached double figures in kills for the  37^th time in her career and 13^th time this season.
• Jackie Romero reached double figures in digs for the second time; her previous high was 10 vs. Rutgers-Camden (10/16/2014).
• The final tournament standings:
  • 1^st: Ramapo College (4-0)
  • 2^nd: Alfred State College (3-1)
  • 3^rd: St. Joseph's College (LI) (2-2)
  • 4^{th (tie)}: Keystone College (1-3)
  • 4^{th (tie)}: Wilkes University (1-3)
  • 6^th: New Jersey City (0-4)
• Medley increased her career totals to 1,096.5 points, 938 kills and 186 blocks (109 solo). She needs 62 more kills in the final six matches of the season to become the fourth Gothic Knight with 1,000 career kills. Sarah Torres (2005-08) with 961 kills is next on the all-time list, just 24 kills away.

 
WHAT'S NEXT?
NJCU plays its final road match of the season on Tuesday, October 28 (7 p.m.) when it closes New Jersey Athletic Conference play against Montclair State University in Montclair, NJ. NJCU then hosts Sarah Lawrence College on Thursday, October 30 (7:30 p.m.) on Senior Day. NJCU closes the season with a two-day home quad on November 1-2.