JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University women's volleyball had an early 10-2 lead in game one before Mount Saint Mary College (NY) mounted a comeback to win the set and claim the momentum that led to a 3-0 sweep of the non-conference match from NJCU, 25-19, 25-15, 25-20, on September 28 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (Coach Charlie Brown Court).
 
MSMC, members of the Skyline Conference (4-14), snapped a three-match losing streak by posting a 36-20 margin in kills while hitting .253 as a team. After a hot start in game one, NJCU (6-7) hit -.208 in the first set (6-11-24) and never recovered, finishing with 20 kills but 23 attack errors for a -.041 percentage.
 
In defeat, junior outside hitter Ayleen Pittar (Union City, NJ/Union City) had a match-high nine kills (.130, 9-6-23) with five digs and sophomore Pamela Florimon (Teaneck, NJ/Memorial) hit .286 with five kills. Senior setter Rachel McIntyre (Drexel Hill, PA/Upper Darby) tallied 14 assists and six digs.
 
For MSMC, junior setter Kim Gries (Hicksville, N.Y.) led the way with 30 assists and two aces while junior middle blocker Nicole Spinelli (Wantagh, N.Y.) put away five kills in six swings for an .833 percentage, adding three blocks. Overall, the Blue Knights had 7.0 blocks as a team.
 
Also for the visitors, sophomore outside hitter Madelyn Barberan (Fishkill, N.Y.) had a team-high seven kills (.190, 7-3-21) while sophomore middle Morgan Burke (Ringwood, N.J.) had four assisted blocks. Senior right side Megan Williams (Glenmont, N.Y.) collected five kills and three blocks. Freshman outside Renee Hydo (Bethpage, N.Y.) provided six kills and two aces.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
In game one, NJCU gained an 8-2 lead after back-to-back back-row kills by Pittar, including a roll shot, and extended it to 10-2 when sophomore Georgina Rayo (Jersey City, NJ/McNair Academic) served consecutive aces.
 
After an MSMC timeout, NJCU committed three errors and MSMC drew within 10-6. It was the start of a 10-1 outburst for the guests. Four more NJCU errors cut it to 11-9 and a cross court kill by Hydo made it 11-10 before an ace by senior libero Juli Figueroa (Dorado, Puerto Rico) tied it and a kill by Spinelli capped the run, giving MSMC a 12-11 lead. After ties at 13-13 and 14-14, back-to-back blocks on the outside by Williams and Burke put MSMC up 17-15 and a kill by Barberan extended the margin to 19-16. Two more NJCU attack errors created the separation (21-16) as MSMC prevailed, 25-19.
 
In game two, NJCU trailed by one (8-7) before a 9-0 outburst, aided by seven Gothic Knight errors, surged the lead to 17-7. Spinelli had two blocks and Gries landed two aces during the run. The Blue Knights maintained that differential and won by 10 points.
 
Tied 16-16 in game three, MSMC called another productive timeout, coming out of the break to land five consecutive kills by four different players and overall used a 6-0 run to pull in front. A kill by Williams won it.
 
OF NOTE:

• Series: 9th meeting. Mount Saint Mary leads, 6-3.

 
UP NEXT:

• NJCU will host a non-conference tri-match on Saturday, September 30 beginning at 11 a.m. when it hosts Centenary University (N.J.) before a 3 p.m. match with Brooklyn College. Brooklyn (8-5, Won 1) and Centenary (1-7, Lost 7) will play a neutral court contest at 1 p.m. NJCU leads all-time with Centenary, 22-6, and has won the last 16 meetings since September 19, 1998. It will be the first meeting against Brooklyn since September 26, 2002 in Jersey City—a 3-0 win for the Gothic Knights. NJCU is 8-0 all-time against Brooklyn, winning the last six meetings by a 3-0 sweep.

 
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