JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University (2-3) and St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) (0-4) traded sets back-and-forth all evening, with the Gothic Knights pulling out the fifth and deciding set for a 3-2 victory (25-21, 25-27, 25-22, 20-25, 15-10) in a two-hour non-conference affair at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center on September 13.
 
The match saw several strong performances from the Knights: senior setter Shaylah Ware (Newark, NJ/Science Park) had a solid all-around effort, tallying 44 assists, nine digs, four aces and a .500 hitting percentage (four kills) and NJCU received double-doubles from both outside hitters, senior Amber O'Donnell (East Newark, NJ/Harrison) (13 kills, 18 digs) and junior  Stephanie Duque (West New York, NJ/Memorial) (10 kills, 17 digs).
 
Meanwhile, senior libero Georgina Rayo (Jersey City, NJ/McNair Academic) tallied 18 digs of her own. Freshman outside Yaidettive Vega (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) (11) and junior opposite Pamela Florimon (Teaneck, NJ/Memorial) (10) also collected double-digit kills for the evening.
 
NJCU had an 80 percent sideout rate in the final set (8-10) and hit .450 as a team with 11 kills (11-2-20) in the decisive set. NJCU landed 10 aces in the win.
 
The two teams were exceptionally balanced on the day, as neither team ran away with any of the sets. For the Bears, it was their defense that kept them alive, as they had six players with double-digit digs.
 
In the first set, the Knights stretched their lead to as many as eight, but the Bears battled back towards the end of the set, setting the tone that they were not going to roll over. That attitude persisted into the second set, as St. Joseph's took an early five-point lead.
 

The Knights stormed back to take the lead midway through the set, with the teams trading points down the stretch before the Bears pulled out the 27-25 second set victory.
 
The third set was a tight one throughout, with neither team leading by more than four points. The Knights ended the third on a nice run, taking 10 of the final 13 points, led by a pair of kills from Florimon.
 
The fourth set was highlighted by an exceptionally long rally that ended in a Gothic Knight point and fired up the crowd. Despite the crowd's backing, the Knights fell in the fourth, as the Bears took six of the final seven points.
 
The fifth set brought more noise from the crowd and plenty of energy from the Knights. They jumped out to an early 5-2 lead in the set and never looked back, leading the fifth set wire-to-wire and locking down their first home-court victory of the 2018 campaign.
 
The Knights posted a 56-49 differential in kills, topping the Bears in terms of kills in four of the five sets played.
 
SJCBK freshman middle hitter Christina Morales (Brooklyn, N.Y.) had match-highs of 21 digs and 14 kills while junior middle Briana Marrazzo (East Elmhurst, N.Y.) added 20 digs, 11 kills and two solo blocks.
 
Also for the Bears, freshman setter Makayla Beehler (Rockaway Beach, N.Y.) tallied 38 assists and 16 digs and junior outside Valentina Urgo (Astoria, N.Y.) collected 12 kills and 13 digs.
 
OF NOTE:

• Series record: NJCU leads all-time, 6-0.
• Stephanie Duque (West New York, NJ/Memorial) collected her fourth career double-double.
• Amber O'Donnell (East Newark, NJ/Harrison) registered her sixth career double-double.
• Stephanie Duque (West New York, NJ/Memorial) defended 10+ digs in a match for the third time this season and eighth time in her career.
• Stephanie Duque (West New York, NJ/Memorial) collected her fifth career double-figure kills effort.
• Amber O'Donnell (East Newark, NJ/Harrison) reached double figures in digs for the 32nd time in her career.
• Amber O'Donnell (East Newark, NJ/Harrison) reached double figures in kills for the 11th time in her career.

 
UP NEXT:
The Knights will be playing in the Seahawk Invitational which has been moved from host St. Mary's College (Md.) in St. Mary's City, Md. to Hood College in Frederick, Md. because of Hurricane Florence. NJCU will play a pair of matches on Friday, September 14 and Saturday, September 15, meeting St. Mary's, Good, Alvernia and Valley Forge.
 
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