BRONXVILLE, N.Y. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | The New Jersey City University women's volleyball swept a pair of non-conference matches on September 23, beating SUNY Old Westbury, 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 26-24) in a neutral court contest and host Sarah Lawrence College, 3-0 (25-15, 26-24, 25-20).
 
The two wins over Skyline Conference affiliated schools lift the Gothic Knight overall ledger to 6-5 as NJCU received fairly even contributions from its roster during the tri-match.
 
Senior setter Rachel McIntyre (Drexel Hill, PA/Upper Darby) had a combined 49 assists in the six sets to bring her career assists total to 2,162 with 175 service aces.
 
MATCH 1: New Jersey City 3, SUNY Old Westbury 0 (25-18, 25-20, 26-24)
In the first meeting since 2013 between the programs, junior middle blocker Nadia Montgomery (Jersey City, NJ/Hudson Catholic) hit .333 and put away seven kills (7-3-12) as the Knights won the neutral court match. McIntyre dished 23 assists and had three kills of her own to hit .500 (3-1-4). NJCU had a 29-18 advantage in kills in the match.
 
Rookie middle hitter Leah Seickendick (Hoboken, NJ/Hudson Catholic) had four kills and hit .500 (4-1-6) with two blocks while sophomore defensive specialist Kayla Clarke (East Rutherford, NJ/Becton Regional) served four of the 12 aces for NJCU. Junior opposite Naiomi Cintron (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) put down two solo blocks in one set of action.
 
The Panthers (7-4) hit just .067 in the match. Junior right side Jazmine Ortiz (Caguas, Puerto Rico) was the top player for the opposition with five kills. Senior Sidasia Johnson (Far Rockaway, N.Y.) finished with four kills (4-0-10, .400) and two blocks.
 
NJCU never trailed in game one, pulling away late after OW made it a three-point game (18-15). The Knights trailed 17-14 in game two before reeling off the next five points. Leading by one (20-19), NJCU scored five of the final six points, including a pair of kills from sophomore outside Georgina Rayo (Jersey City, NJ/McNair Academic).
 
NJCU overcame a huge deficit to win game three. OW used an 8-0 run to claim a 14-9 lead behind the serving of sophomore Kemari Best (Brooklyn, N.Y.), and extended the streak to 12-1 after another pair of aces by freshman setter Kristin Grieshaber (Levittown, N.Y.) to build an 18-10 advantage. OW still led 20-14, before the Knights unleashed a furious comeback, scoring 12 of the final 16 points in the match. Down 22-17 after a block by Cintron helped score three in a row, Cintron stuffed another block as NJCU scored six consecutive points to seize a 23-22 lead. Rayo's kill followed by back-to-back Montgomery kills and a solo stuff by Montgomery put NJCU ahead. OW scored the next two points to gain set point (24-23). But NJCU tied it (24-24) on an error and Montgomery put away back-to-back attacks to win, 26-24.

 

MATCH 2: New Jersey City 3, Sarah Lawrence (25-15, 26-24, 25-20)
Junior outside hitter Amber O'Donnell (East Newark, NJ/Harrison) buried 11 kills and hit .500 (11-1-20) as NJCU swept the host Gryphons. She had seven digs and two aces in a well-rounded effort as NJCU had 30 combined kills and hit .208 as a team. McIntyre delivered 26 assists.
 
Also for NJCU, sophomore outside Stephanie Duque (West New York, NJ/Memorial) finished with eight kills and three aces as the Gothic Knights uncorked 15 aces in the win. Seickendick had another quality effort with six kills, hitting .500 (6-1-10). Junior libero Shaylah Ware (Newark, NJ/Science Park) floored five aces in the win.
 
Sophomore Lauren Kilroy (King of Prussia, Pa.) tallied 16 assists and rookie right side Camryn Sanchez (El Cernito, Calif.) defended 10 digs in a losing cause for Sarah Lawrence (6-6). Freshman middle blocker Melanie Coleman (Forest Hills, N.Y.) had eight kills.
 
A 5-0 run early in game one gave NJCU the lead for good in the 10-point win. The second game was the lone in question. In the see-saw game, SLC jumped out to an early 8-1 lead and NJCU answered with a 6-0 run, highlighted by three aces from Ware. Sarah Lawrence would remain in front by no more than three points and had three set points, leading 24-21. But NJCU countered, scoring the final five points to steal the 26-24 win. After a kill by Cintron and a Gryphon attack error, Duque floored an ace to tie it at 24-24. A solo block by Montgomery put NJCU in front before forcing an attack error.
 
NJCU led 6-0 in game three but the Gryphons fought back to tie it at 10-10. NJCU responded with five in a row with kills by Seickendick, Duque and McIntyre sandwiched around back-to-back aces from O'Donnell. NJCU would pull away from there with a pair of kills by O'Donnell helping set up match point.
 
QUOTABLE KNIGHTS:
Head Coach Robert Cole on the results: "I'm glad we had some people step up when they had the opportunity. I thought we played better as the day went on. The focus shifts to William Paterson now."
 
OF NOTE:

• Series vs. Old Westbury: NJCU leads, 12-2. First meeting since November 1, 2013.
• Series vs. Sarah Lawrence: NJCU leads, 8-0 (8 sweeps)
• Junior outside hitter Ayleen Pittar (Union City, NJ/Union City), the team's leading offensive player, did not play in either match.

 
UP NEXT:

• NJCU heads to Wayne, N.J. on Tuesday, September 26 to face William Paterson University in a New Jersey Athletic Conference match. WP won a 3-2 marathon in Jersey City last season and has won the last eight meetings. It will be the 52nd meeting in a series the Pioneers lead, 39-12.

 
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