STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Led by a sensational all-around effort by senior setter Shaylah Ware (Newark, NJ/Science Park) and a dominant second match by junior outside hitter Stephanie Duque (West New York, NJ/Memorial), New Jersey City University (5-10) broke its five-match losing streak, sweeping a non-conference tri-match on September 29 at the College of Staten Island. NJCU breezed past Maritime College (NY), 3-0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-15) before posting a 3-1 win over host College of Staten Island, 3-1 (25-20, 20-25, 25-21, 25-10).
 
Over seven sets, Ware produced 58 assists, 29 digs and 14 aces, averaging 8.29 assists, 4.14 digs and 2.00 aces. Duque had 22 combined kills and senior outside Amber O'Donnell (East Newark, NJ/Harrison) finished with 20 kills.
 
MATCH 1: NJCU def. Maritime, 3-0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-15)
NJCU had a 3-to-1 advantage in kills, 39-13, and breezed past Maritime College (3-8) in an opening neutral-court match. NJCU hit .196 overall (39-19-102) and limited the Privateers to a -.047 attack (13-17-85). NJCU had a 62 percent sideout percentage in the win (28-45) and Maritime was just 26-of-74 on sideouts (35%).
 
Ware led the way with 23 assists, 11 digs and seven aces and four Gothic Knights had six or more kills. O'Donnell landed nine kills with seven digs, senior middle hitter Naiomi Cintron (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) hit .353 with eight kills (8-2-17) and junior opposite Pamela Florimon (Teaneck, NJ/Memorial) finished with seven kills. Duque chipped in six more kills. Senior libero Georgina Rayo (Jersey City, NJ/McNair Academic) defended 14 digs. Sophomore setter Erika Kirchner (Meadowmere Park, N.Y.) led Maritime with 10 digs.
 
NJCU led wire-to-wire in the opening set when it had 15 kills. The Knights scored the first five points of the set as Ware uncorked three aces in a row and junior middle Diana Trochimowicz (Linden, NJ/Linden) combined with Duque on a kill. Six consecutive kills—three by O'Donnell—and an ace pushed the lead to 13-3 to set the tone.  
 
NJCU added 14 kills in game two. Leading by just one (18-17), the Knights scored the final seven points to win the set. Florimon and O'Donnell combined for five kills during the late tear. NJCU never trailed in the third set, adding 10 more winners to sweep the match.
 
MATCH 2: NJCU def. Staten Island, 3-1 (25-20, 20-25, 25-21, 25-10)
NJCU snapped Staten Island's five-match winning streak as the Dolphins fell to 9-5. The Gothic Knights did well to avoid fading despite a busy day.
 
Ware delivered 35 assists, 18 digs, and seven aces and Duque had a strong match, totaling 16 kills to just three errors, hitting .351 overall (16-3-37), while adding 15 digs and five aces. It was her fourth double-double of the season. The Knights were one off their season-high for team service aces, totaling 17 during the second match, led by Ware.
 
Joining Duque in double-digits were O'Donnell with 11 kills, and Rayo with 15 digs. Duque and O'Donnell combined for 27 of NJCU's 41 kills.
 
Junior Francesca Castellano (Belle Harbor, N.Y.) had 20 digs and eight kills in defeat for the Dolphins while freshman setter Arianna Spears (Questa, N.M.) added 20 assists and 11 digs.
 
The first set actually got off to a tough start for the Knights, as they fell behind 4-0 right off the bat. However, they tied things up by 7-7 and really pulled away late, taking eight of the final 11 points of the set.
 
The Dolphins evened things right back up in the second game, and they started with the first three points of the third game as well. However, a late 8-0 run in the third, in which the Knights went from down 16-20 to up 24-20, sealed the Dolphins fate. Of those eight points, four were kills (led by two from Duque) and two were aces (both of which came from O'Donnell). CSI used a pair of timeouts during the run, but nothing could stop the Knights comeback.
 
In the fourth game, the Knights were the fresher of the two teams, and it showed, as NJCU jumped out to a 7-1 lead and never looked back, leading the set wire-to-wire. The Knights were able to extend their rotation a bit, and both Karina Rosado (Linden, NJ/Linden) and Yaidettive Vega (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) tallied three kills apiece in the clinching set.


QUOTABLE KNIGHTS:
Head Coach Robert Cole: "Feels great to get back into the win column. We played with good poise and were able to focus on the task at hand—save for the second set versus CSI where we missed eight serves. Looking forward to the opportunity ahead of us on Tuesday [against William Paterson]."

 

OF NOTE:

• Series with Maritime: NJCU now leads 4-0 (all four being sweeps). It was the first meeting since October 17, 2015.
• Series with College of Staten Island: NJCU now leads the 'Bayonne Bridge Series', 14-6.
• Stephanie Duque (West New York, NJ/Memorial) reached double figures in kills for the seven time in her career and fourth time this year. The 16 kills were a career high, passing the 14 she had in five sets against Alvernia on September 15.
• Amber O'Donnell (East Newark, NJ/Harrison) reached double figures in kills for the 13th time in her career.
• Georgina Rayo (Jersey City, NJ/McNair Academic) had 10 or more digs for the 23rd and 24th times in her career and the third match in a row.
• Shaylah Ware (Newark, NJ/Science Park) reached double figures in kills for the first two times this season and 13th time in three season at NJCU.
• Ware had seven or more aces for the second and third consecutive match and sixth time in her career.

 
UP NEXT:
NJCU is back to conference play, with William Paterson University (12-1, 1-1 NJAC) headed to the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center for an NJAC showdown on Tuesday, October 2 at 7:00 p.m. on Coach Charlie Brown Court.
 
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