JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Junior outside hitter Ayleen Pittar (Union City, NJ/Union City) had one of the most productive matches in school history with 26 kills and 15 digs and senior setter Rachel McIntyre (Drexel Hill, PA/Upper Darby) delivered 51 assists as the New Jersey City University women's volleyball team persevered to end a lengthy losing streak in the New Jersey Athletic Conference with a 3-2 victory (25-15, 29-31, 25-19, 22-25, 15-13) over rival Rutgers-Newark on September 19 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center ('Coach Charlie Brown Court').
 
NJCU (4-4, 1-1 NJAC) had a chance to win in three sets and again had a late lead in game four but used 66 combined kills to claim its first win in the league since a 3-2 win, also against Rutgers-Newark, at home on October 10, 2013. That snapped a 29-match losing streak in the league. Rutgers-Newark fell to 4-5 (0-2 NJAC).
 
Pittar's 26 kills are a single-match school record for kills during the 25-point rally scoring era (since 2008); the previous high was Jade Medley who had 25 kills at CCNY on October 22, 2011. Meanwhile, McIntyre's 51 assists are also a school record during the 25-point era. She notched only the 14th 50-assist match in school history—the fifth player to reach the milestone—and were the most in a match of any structure since 2006.
 
Rutgers-Newark staved off three set points in the second game when NJCU led 24-23, 28-27 and 29-28 yet managed to survive. NJCU led 21-19 in the fourth set, but the Scarlet Raiders stayed alive by scoring six of the final seven points.
 
NJCU won the offensive battle with 20 more kills than the Scarlet Raiders—66-46—was more accurate with a .226 percentage, and defended 85 digs as four Gothic Knights produced double digits in digs.
 
Overall, Pittar hit .257 with a line of 26-8-70, the 15 digs and two aces for her 10th career double-double and she was a perfect 18-for-18 in serve reception. Pittar had eight kills in game two when the Knights put away 19 attacks and she had seven kills to score nearly half of NJCU's points in the decisive fifth set. McIntyre's 51 assists came at a .317 percentage and the team captain added eight digs and two aces.
 
Rookie middle hitter Leah Seickendick (Hoboken, NJ/Hudson Catholic) had a breakout match, hitting .526 with 13 kills (13-3-19) and three blocks, including two solo. Junior outside Amber O'Donnell (East Newark, NJ/Harrison) also had a double-double—the third of her and first this season—and reached double figures in digs for the 21st time in her career. She posted 20 digs—the fourth time she's had at least 20 in a match—and hit .265 with 11 kills.
 
Junior libero Shaylah Ware (Newark, NJ/Science Park) had a career-high 22 digs—the 10th time she's reached double figures in 26 matches for the green and gold. Sophomore outside Georgina Rayo (Jersey City, NJ/McNair Academic) had 11 digs and sophomore outside Stephanie Duque (West New York, NJ/Memorial) added seven kills, six digs, five service aces and three blocks.
 
In defeat for R-N, senior libero Sue Riley (Rahway, N.J.), who ranks eighth in the nation in digs, had 27. Senior outside Morgan Schweitzer (Monroe, N.J.) hit .250 with 17 kills (17-5-48) while junior outside Cassie Luken (North Brunswick, N.J.) added 13 kills and 15 digs. Freshman setter Karly Gregoire (Linden, N.J.) pushed out 37 assists and seven digs.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
NJCU reached double figures in kills in all five sets and hit .345 in the opening game with 15 kills (15-5-29) while limiting R-N to a meager 33 percent sideout ratio (8-24). NJCU never trailed in the game and used a 6-0 run in the middle of the game to claim a 15-6 margin as Seickendick had three kills. Another 5-0 spurt extended the margin to 22-9 before NJCU cruised to victory.
 
Game two was dramatic and went deep into extra points as the clubs traded 12 ties and NJCU piled up 19 kills. NJCU fell into a big hole in game two, falling behind 14-7 but slowly chipped away. Back-to-back kills by Duque drew the Knights within three and her ace, coupled with two kills by Pittar tied it at 18-18. Five more ties at 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 followed and NJCU had set point (24-23) after a Duque kill before R-N scored the next two points. Kills by Seickendick and Pittar had tied it at 25-25 and 26-26. Another winner by Pittar and an error by the guests made it 28-27 before the Knights had a service error. Rayo again gave the Knights set point at 29-28, before R-N got a kill on an errant free ball and scored the final three points for the 31-29 win.
 
The third set saw 10 more ties but none after 17-17. A kill by Seickendick gave the hosts the lead for good and R-N had two attack errors before Pittar smashed back-to-back attacks for a 22-18 lead. An ace by McIntyre and a Duque kill ended it and put NJCU on top, 2-1.
 
There were 13 ties in game four but most came early. NJCU led 21-19 after a Duque ace and a Seickendick kill. But R-N ran off a 6-1 streak. A combo block by Schweitzer and senior Rebecca Ford (Newark, N.J.) tied it.

NJCU committed three more errors and fell behind 24-22 before R-N forced the fifth set.
 
In that final game, NJCU never trailed after the opening series. Tied 5-5, kills by O'Donnell, Pittar and Seickendick made it 8-5. When the Raiders came within one points (11-10), Rayo's sent over a free ball that fell for a kill and junior middle hitter Nadia Montgomery (Jersey City, NJ/Hudson Catholic) teamed with Duque for a block and a 13-10 advantage. Pittar gave NJCU three match points with a winner and after Newark twice stayed alive, the third time was the finale as Montgomery landed a kill for the 15-13 triumph.
 
QUOTABLE KNIGHTS:
Head Coach Robert Cole on the win: "Wins are at a premium and conference matches hold a ton of weight. But our focus is now on practice tomorrow and the opportunity to get better."
 
Rachel McIntyre (Drexel Hill, PA/Upper Darby) and Ayleen Pittar (Union City, NJ/Union City) interviewed on Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/NJCUGothicKnights/videos/10155263656324915/
 
OF NOTE:

• Series: Rutgers-Newark leads, 37-11.
• While Ayleen Pittar (Union City, NJ/Union City)'s 26 kills are the most in school history during the 25-point rally scoring era, they're not the most ever at NJCU. In all, 37 times a player has had 26 or more kills during the 30-point (2001-07) and sideout (2000 and earlier) eras, including legendary alum Lizzelle Cintron who did it 28 times in her career that ended with 2,894 kills.
• Rachel McIntyre (Drexel Hill, PA/Upper Darby)'s 51 assists are two more than McIntyre's previous high of 49 in five sets against Gwynedd Mercy as a freshman on October 4, 2014.

 
UP NEXT:

• NJCU tangles with defending regular-season champion Ramapo College (8-2, 1-0 NJAC) in a conference match in Mahwah, N.J. on Thursday, September 21 (7 p.m.).

 
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