STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Senior middle hitter Shege Haxhaj (Lyndhurst, N.J./Lyndhurst) hit .600 in a 3-0 win over host the College of Staten Island (25-23, 25-15, 25-19) and unleashed a .700 attack percentage with nine of the 26 service aces her team fired at Medgar Evers College in a 57-minute 3-0 sweep (25-12, 25-5, 25-10) as the New Jersey City University women's volleyball team won a pair of non-conference matches on October 22.
 
With the pair of wins, the Gothic Knights moved back above .500 at 13-12 overall. Haxhaj hit a combined .650 in the two matches with 15 kills in 20 swings (two errors). NJCU, which entered the day in the Top 50 nationally in aces, had a combined 43 aces in six sets.
 
MATCH 1: New Jersey City University 3, College of Staten Island 0 (25-23, 25-15, 25-19)
Haxhaj hit .600 and sophomore outside Ayleen Pittar (Union City, N.J./Union City) had a near double-double as the Gothic Knights improved to 12-12 with the win. Host CSI fell to 6-14 after the opening match of the tri-match. NJCU served 17 aces in the match.
 
Haxhaj posted a line of 7-1-10 with seven kills and Pittar registered 11 digs, nine kills (.227, 9-4-22) and two blocks. Sophomore Shaylah Ware (Newark, N.J./Science Park) made her first career start in place of junior setter Rachel McIntyre (Drexel Hill, Pa./Upper Darby) and Ware was brilliant, delivering 28 assists, six aces and five digs.
 
Also for NJCU, freshman outside Stephanie Duque (West New York, N.J./Memorial) had a near-triple double with eight digs, seven kills and six aces. Senior middle hitter Elyssa Magee (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) hit .300 with four kills (4-1-10) and two blocks.
 
Siobhan Granich and Vanessa Reyes each had six kills for the Dolphins while Jessica Cafiero collected 17 assists and nine digs. Victoria Wong reached double figures in digs (10).
 
The first set saw 11 ties and six lead changes. Down 21-20, kills by Duque and Haxhaj and an ace by Magee made it 23-21 and a Duque kill sealed the two-point win. Up one (13-12) in game two, NJCU unleashed five straight points as Ware landed three aces in four serves. Three aces sandwiched around a combo block by Haxhaj and Pittar made it a 24-13 advantage. Up by one in game three (20-19), NJCU scored the final five points of the match to complete the sweep.
 
MATCH 2: New Jersey City University 3, Medgar Evers College 0 (25-12, 25-5, 25-10)
The Gothic Knights unleashed the fourth most aces in a match in school history as they blew away the Cougars (0-24) in three sets. Six different Gothic Knights had at least two aces.
 
NJCU had a 27-7 margin in kills and hit .458 as a team (27-5-48)—its second best percentage this season. The Cougars committed 16 attack errors and were limited to a -.243 attack.
 
Haxhaj was dominant, blasting eight kills in 10 swings (one error) for a .700 percentage, unleashed nine aces and had three blocks (one solo). Leading 18-12 in set one, Haxhaj reeled off seven consecutive aces and eight in nine serves to end the set.

 
Duque hit .500 with six kills (6-1-10) and four aces and junior libero Jacqueline Romero (West New York, N.J./Memorial) provided six aces.
 
Also for NJCU, Ware had eight assists in two sets with two aces before freshman Gabriella Diaz (Elizabeth, N.J./Edison Academy) came in to dish 13 assists and two aces. Sophomore right side Naiomi Cintron (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne) hit .571 (4-0-7). Pittar added four kills (.300, 4-1-10).
 
NJCU got better as the match went along, hitting .222 in game one (7-3-18), .571 in game two (9-1-14) and a sizzling .625 as a team in the third (11-1-16). Meanwhile, NJCU had a 75 percent sideout percentage in the win (22-of-29), reaching a high of 81 percent in the third set.
 
NJCU led wire-to-wire in the second set when it jumped out to a 14-2 lead and the Knights never trailed in game three.
 
OF NOTE:

• Series vs. Staten Island: NJCU leads the all-time 'Bayonne Bridge Series', 11-6.
• Series vs. Medgar Evers: NJCU leads, 17-0 (all 3-0 sweeps).
• Rachel McIntyre, who missed both matches with an injury, had a streak of 83 consecutive matches to open her career snapped. She had played all 80 sets coming into the match and in three years, 277 of a possible 280 sets.
• The .458 attack percentage against Medgar Evers was second only to NJCU's .486 percentage (38-4-70) against Lehman on September 17.
• Medgar Evers' -.243 attack was the lowest percentage by an opponent since SUNY Maritime hit -.333 (4-18-42) on September 21, 2013.
• The most aces in a match in program history:
  • 29 vs. St. Elizabeth, September 13, 2003
  • 28 vs. Brooklyn, September 26, 2002
  • 27 vs. St. Elizabeth, October 19, 2002
  • 26 vs. Medgar Evers, October 22, 2016
  • 26 vs. Manhattanville, October 5, 2007

 
WHAT'S NEXT?
NJCU plays its final New Jersey Athletic Conference match on Tuesday, October 25 when it travels to Montclair State University for a 7 p.m. match.