WAYNE, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | William Paterson University hit .323 as a team and had a more than 2-to-1 advantage in kills as the Pioneers swept New Jersey City University, 3-0 (25-17, 25-10, 25-11) in the Gothic Knights' 2015 New Jersey Athletic Conference opener on September 15 at the WPU Rec Center.
 
William Paterson (5-3, 1-1 NJAC) had a 42-20 differential in kills over NJCU (5-3, 0-1 NJAC), posting 13 kills in the opening set when it hit .350 (13-6-28) before putting away 17 kills at a .341 percentage (17-3-41) in game two.
 
WP's hitting percentage improved in each set and the Pioneers capped the evening with a .375 rate in the third game (12-3-24).
 
Erin Roach, who was the NJAC's Player of the Week in week one on September 8, paced the hosts with 17 kills and a .438 attack rate (17-3-32) while adding seven digs. Nicole Spicer contributed double figures with 12 kills (.233, 12-5-30), eight digs, three aces and two blocks.
 
Junior middle hitter Shege Haxhaj (Lyndhurst, NJ/Lyndhurst) was NJCU's leader with seven kills and two blocks while freshman outside hitter Amber O'Donnell (East Newark, NJ/Harrison) had five kills.
 
Freshman outside hitter Georgina Rayo (Jersey City, NJ/McNair Academic), who earlier in the day was named the NJAC Rookie of the Week for the second straight week to open the season, finished with six kills and six digs, but committed seven attack errors. Sophomore setter Rachel McIntyre (Drexel Hill, PA/Upper Darby) delivered 20 assists and five digs and senior Valerie Ballestas (North Bergen, NJ/Weehawken) tallied nine digs.
 
Also for the Pioneers, Kendall Caruso distributed 31 assists and added 10 digs for a double-double. Issel Garcia hit .556 with five kills and no errors (5-0-9) and added three blocks. Michelle Merida and Julianna Ginefra each had seven digs.
 
The first set was the most competitive with six ties and three lead changes. With WP up, 17-13, NJCU closed within one (17-16) before a kill by Garcia and a combo block by Garcia and Spicer, followed by a Caruso ace, pushed the margin back to four (20-16). WP led wire-to-wire in the second and third sets.
 
Of Note:

• William Paterson leads the all-time series, 38-12.

 
What's Next?:
NJCU is off for the next seven days before returning to action with a conference match against Ramapo College in Mahwah, NJ on Tuesday, September 22 at 7 p.m. RCNJ leads the all-time series, 25-18, and has won the last eight meetings.