JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University women's volleyball needed less than an hour to sweep Centenary University in the opening match of a non-conference tri-match, but couldn't put away Brooklyn College in the day's finale, losing to the Bulldogs 16-14 in the fifth set that featured 10 ties as the Gothic Knights split action on September 30 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (Coach Charlie Brown Court).
 
NJCU (7-8) led wire-to-wire in all three sets and breezed past Centenary in 56 minutes, 3-0 (25-5. 25-7, 25-14). In the nightcap, NJCU led 2-1 but Brooklyn won the fourth game and hung on in a marathon fifth set to defeat the Knights, 3-2 (17-25, 25-22, 18-25, 25-14, 16-14). It was Brooklyn's first-ever win over NJCU in nine all-time matches but the first meeting since the 2002 season.
 
Brooklyn, which won both of its matches to improve to 10-5, defeated Centenary (1-9), 25-12, 25-12, 25-16 in a neutral court match.
 
Match 1: NJCU 3, Centenary 0 (25-5, 25-7, 25-14)
NJCU hit a blistering .438 as a team—by far its highest hitting percentage of the season—as the Gothic Knights were in control at every juncture of the match. The Cyclones dropped to 1-8 on the year, hitting just -.033 as a team (7-9-60).
 
NJCU had a decisive 40-8 margin in kills in the match and Centenary only had three total kills in the first two games. NJCU had its 40 kills in 73 swings and only committed eight attack errors while unleashing 15 service aces. NJCU posted a sizzling 81 percent sideout percentage in the win (22-27) and was above 75 percent in each game.
 
Freshman middle hitter Leah Seickendick (Hoboken, NJ/Hudson Catholic), the reigning New Jersey Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week, played just two games yet swung at a staggering .778 percentage with eight kills in nine attempts (one error). She had one solo block.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Georgina Rayo (Jersey City, NJ/McNair Academic), starting in place of NJCU's top hitter, Ayleen Pittar (Union City, NJ/Union City), who had a morning class, had her first career double-double, slamming 10 kills in 20 attempts (one error) for a .450 percentage while defending 10 digs. She also uncorked four aces—one of four Gothic Knights with at least three in the win.
 
Junior outside Amber O'Donnell (East Newark, NJ/Harrison) hit .389 with nine kills (9-2-18), 11 digs and three aces and sophomore right side Pamela Florimon (Teaneck, NJ/Memorial) hit .500 with five kills (5-1-8).
 
Senior setter Rachel McIntyre (Drexel Hill, PA/Upper Darby) and junior setter Shaylah Ware (Newark, NJ/Science Park) split time in the three sets. McIntyre dished out 21 assists with three aces; Ware contributed 14 assists, six digs and four aces.
 
Centenary's top player was senior Amanda Fullem (Linden, N.J.) with eight digs and three kills.
 
NJCU hit .647 in game one when it had 12 kills (12-1-17). The Knights led 8-0, used another six-point outburst to move ahead 15-2, and then scored the final seven points of the set behind the serving of O'Donnell and two kills each by Florimon and Rayo.
 
The Knights pounded 15 kills in set two, hitting .448 overall (15-2-29). NJCU scored nine consecutive points in the middle of the game, including three aces by Rayo, to build a 19-4 advantage.
 
The hitting percentage slipped slightly in game three—the only thing standing between the Knights and a potential all-time record hitting percentage—but had 13 kills in the game (13-5-27, .296). NJCU scored the first five points in game three and sailed to the win.
 
Match 2: Brooklyn 3, Centenary 0 (25-12, 25-12, 25-16)
Brooklyn trailed just once in the match and prevailed in a brief 44 minutes. The Bulldogs hit .154 as a team and had a 35-7 margin in kills, led by junior outside Michaela Appel (Rockaway Park, N.Y.) who posted 15 kills, 11 digs and hit .265 (15-6-34), adding three aces. Freshman setter Claudia Moi (Brooklyn, N.Y.) delivered 17 assists, eight digs and served six aces as BC unleashed 17 aces in the win. Senior outside Sarina Rozek (Brooklyn, N.Y.) finished with 11 kills and 11 digs. Freshman Kimberly Chan (Brooklyn, N.Y.) chipped in 10 digs. The Cyclones hit -.064 as a team (7-12-78). Sophomore Nicci Veras (Newark, N.J.) had nine digs in the loss.
 
Match 3: Brooklyn 3, NJCU 2 (17-25, 25-22, 18-25, 25-14, 16-14)
After missing the first match, Pittar returned from class and made her presence felt with her 11th career double-double—25 digs, 18 kills, a .286 attack percentage (18-6-42), and a perfect 15-for-15 on serve reception.
 
NJCU lost despite owning the major statistical categories. The Knights had more kills than Brooklyn (52-49), more digs (78-70) and a massive 11-1 differential in blocks.
 

But that effort wasn't enough. After trading the first four sets, it all came down to the fifth as the clubs traded 10 ties and four lead changes but neither side led by more than two. After NJCU scored three in a row to grab a 9-7 lead after a combo block by Seickendick and junior opposite Naiomi Cintron (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne), Brooklyn countered with three in a row to move ahead, 10-9. After ties at 10-10 and 11-11, Seickendick twice put away attacks, the latter making it 13-13. Rozek gave Brooklyn match point with a kill before Pittar tied it at 14-14 with a winner. However, Rozek would win it for the visitors, planting back-to-back kills for the 15th and 16th points and the 16-14 decision.
 
Rozek led all players with a match-high 22 kills, hitting .193 (22-11-57). She added 14 digs and three aces for her second double-double of the afternoon. Moi distributed 19 assists and 14 digs, adding five kills in 14 swings without an error (.357). Appel contributed 17 kills (.185, 17-7-54) and 17 digs for the Bulldogs' third double-double of the contest. Sophomore libero Jailene Paredes (Brooklyn, N.Y.) finished with 13 digs.
 
In the loss, Seickendick continued to produce. She hit .400 with eight kills (8-2-15), six blocks (two solo) and served four aces. O'Donnell finished with 19 digs, 11 kills and four blocks for her fourth career double-double and second this year.
 
Also for NJCU, Rayo defended 15 digs. In split time at setter, Ware had 23 assists, eight digs and two aces and McIntyre provided 21 assists and two aces. Cintron collected six kills and three blocks and junior middle blocker Nadia Montgomery (Jersey City, NJ/Hudson Catholic) posted five assisted blocks.
 
OF NOTE:

• Series vs. Centenary: NJCU leads, 24-6, and has won the last 17 meetings since September 19, 1998.
• Series vs. Brooklyn: First meeting against Brooklyn since September 26, 2002 in Jersey City. NJCU leads, 8-1. NJCU had won the previous six meetings by 3-0 sweeps.
• NJCU's 438 attack percentage against Centenary was the nearly double the previous season high of .226 in a 3-2 win over Rutgers-Newark.
• The last time NJCU hit higher than .438 in a match was twice during the 2016 season—.458 (27-5-48) in a 3-0 win over Medgar Evers on October 22, 2016 and an even better line of .486 (38-4-70) in a 3-0 win over Lehman on September 17, 2016.
• NJCU's top hitter Ayleen Pittar (Union City, NJ/Union City) missed the Centenary match due to a Saturday class while managing a difficult double major of biology and chemistry.
• Ayleen Pittar (Union City, NJ/Union City) reached double figures in kills for the 12th time and 10+ digs for the 22nd time in her career. It was her fourth career match of at least 20 digs and third time defending at least 25 digs (high: 29 vs. Staten Island, October 29, 2016).
• Amber O'Donnell (East Newark, NJ/Harrison) reached double figures in digs for the 22nd and 23rd times in her career and eighth with at least 10 kills.
• Georgina Rayo (Jersey City, NJ/McNair Academic) reached double figures in digs for the 11th and 12th time in her career. Her previous career high for kills was eight on five occasions as a freshman in 2015.

 
UP NEXT:

• NJCU is home again on Monday, October 2 when it hosts The City College of New York (3-11, Lost 4) in a 7 p.m. non-conference match at the JMAC. It will be the 35th meeting between the programs. NJCU leads the all-time series, 18-16, and has won the last five meetings and twice last year, including a 3-2 decision (25-16, 25-11, 20-25, 18-25, 15-12) on October 27, 2016 in New York City.

 
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