HACKETTSTOWN, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Senior middle hitter Jade Medley (Queens, NY/Hudson Catholic) became the sixth player in program history to register 1,000 career points and in the first meeting in nine years between New Jersey City University and Centenary College, she helped spark the Gothic Knights to a 3-1 (25-17, 22-25, 25-19, 25-17) non-conference victory over the Cyclones on October 7 at the Reeves Gymnasium.
 
Needing 10.5 points to reach the 1,000-point plateau, Medley smashed 15 kills and hit .273 (15-6-33) while adding six digs and two solo blocks to give her 1007.5 for her career—858 kills, 11 service aces, 102 solo blocks and 73 assisted blocks. Medley reached double digits in kills for the 34^th time in her career and ninth time this season. She moved into fifth place in school history in kills in the win.
 
NJCU (4-13) wins back-to-back matches for the first time this season. Centenary (0-21) dropped its 23^rd straight match dating to 2013.
 

Meanwhile, sophomore middle hitter Shege Haxhaj (Lyndhurst, NJ/Lyndhurst) hit .267 with 11 kills (11-3-30). It was her third consecutive match reaching double figures in kills, something she has accomplished five times this year and 10 times as a collegian. Medley and Haxhaj together equaled Centenary's team kills total in the match (26).
 
Also for NJCU, New Jersey Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week Rachel McIntyre (Drexel Hill, PA/Upper Darby) dished 31 assists and senior right side Ashley Latushko (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) defended 12 digs and uncorked four aces. Senior outside hitter Marissa Scarpa (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) finished with six kills.
 
Andrea Martorana led the Cyclones with 14 kills (14-8-34, .176), eight digs and four aces. Na'imah Spells finished with 19 assists. Myriah Cockburn and Brianne Allender each defended 11 digs. Cockburn tallied six aces while Allender had a pair of solo blocks.
 
NJCU never trailed in the opening set and after being tied at 11-11, reeled off the next four points. Back-to-back aces by Latushko opened the lead to 19-13. Solo blocks by Medley and Haxhaj helped extend the cushion to 23-15 before the Knights prevailed, 25-17.
 
Centenary tried to make a match of it winning set two—despite hitting .-.067 in the period (5-6-27). The Cyclones used 10 aces in the set, including three in a row by Cockburn to claim a 6-2 edge, to make up for the offensive woes. Trailing from there, NJCU was able to pull within one point, 19-18, before Medley made three attack errors to open a 23-19 advantage. Kills by Medley and McIntyre cut it to 23-22 before a winner by Martorana and a ball handling error gave the Cyclones a 25-22 decision.
 
NJCU powered its way to victory in the third set, unleashing 16 kills in the game and an incredible .462 percentage (16-4-26) while never trailing. The Knights jumped in front, 5-1 behind four straight kills—two by Medley—and the lead eventually grew to 14-8. CC couldn't draw closer than two the remainder of the set.
 
In the fourth set there were eight ties and four lead changes. NJCU hit .222 with seven kills (7-3-18) and was able to pull away from a Cyclones squad that committed 11 attack errors in the period with only six kills, hitting -.227. Tied at 11, a kill from Medley and two CC errors gave NJCU the lead for good and the Knights, leading 18-15, scored seven of the final nine points to clinch the match.
 
QUOTES:

TEAM STAT COMPARISON
	NJCU	CENT
Score:	3	1
Attack Percentage (K-E-TA):	.190 (39-19-105)	-.050 (26-31-101)
Kills:	39	26
Assists:	33	20
Service Aces:	9	15
Digs:	39	44
Total Blocks:	4.0	2.0
Points:	52.0	42.0

NJCU head coach Robert Cole (first season; third year with program):
"It was good to get the decision we wanted but it's disappointing to not be playing up to our potential. We're still struggling to execute the fundamentals on a consistent basis. We've got a long way to go. With 16 matches remaining, let's see what this team is made of."
 
Senior tri-captain Jade Medley, on her 1,000^th career point:
"I'm very happy that I was able to achieve one of my goals for this season and being the sixth person to do so is a big accomplishment for me. Making school history will definitely help make my last year as a Gothic Knight volleyball player even more memorable. The drive to become a better player, teammate and admiring the greatest player who ever wore the Gothic Knight jersey—Lizzelle Cintron—played a big part in all of this."
 
OF NOTE:

• NJCU leads the all-time series, 20-6.
• NJCU has won the last 14 meetings. NJCU's last loss to Centenary was September 19, 1998.
• First meeting between the schools since September 24, 2005.
• With 858 career kills, Medley passed Cheryl Nitschke (1992-95) who had 857 kills in four years for NJCU and graduated as the program's all-time leader in 1995.
• Medley needs 142 kills to become the fourth Gothic Knight with 1,000 career kills. With 16 matches remaining, Medley would need to average 8.88 kills per match to reach the milestone. In the unlikely event all 16 matches were only three sets, she would need to average 2.96 kills per set. She is currently averaging 2.97 per set for the season.
• Centenary avoided getting swept in a match for only the fourth time this season.
• Centenary had lost 16 consecutive sets before winning game two.
• An opponent landed 10 or more aces for the 14^th time this season.

 
WHAT'S NEXT?
NJCU returns home for a non-conference home match on Thursday, October 9 against Farmingdale State College (7-15) before playing a tri-match at Misericordia on October 11.