JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The New Jersey City University women's volleyball team concluded its regular-season on Saturday, Oct. 30, with a strong non-conference victory over St. Joseph's College-Long Island at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC). Led by junior right-side hitter Paola Toledo's (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Colegio Catolico San Rafael) career-best 20 kills, the Gothic Knights took down the Golden Eagles in straight sets (25-21, 25-14, 25-20).

NJCU (15-10) had a strong day hitting and finished the afternoon with 40 kills on 91 swings with 13 errors (.297 hitting percentage). The squad also held St. Joe's (9-15) to just .091 hitting and forced the visitors into 18 errors. Sophomore setter Sydney Lore (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee) dished out a match-best 33 assists and was two digs shy of a double-double with eight. Junior defensive specialist Katrina Nguyendon (Union, N.J./Union) led all players with 13 digs and notched a pair of aces, also a team high.

Set number one was very even throughout until the Golden Eagles took control at 20-17, forcing a home timeout. The squad regrouped and exploded for an 8-1 run to close out the 25-21 set win. Toledo had three kills during that stretch, while senior middle blocker Leah Seickendick (Hoboken, N.J./Hudson Catholic) had two solo blocks.

The second set was a bit more cut and dry for NJCU as the Green and Gold busted out of the break to the tune of a 13-1 run. St. Joe's steadied out a bit and made it a 13-6 game, but the Gothic Knights never lost their grip on the momentum en route to the 25-14 set win.

The third and final set of the day also went the Gothic Knights way. After falling behind 7-6 early on, NJCU went on a 9-1 run to take a 15-8 lead. Six of those points came on Golden Eagles' errors. From that point on, the focus shifted to getting Toledo over the hump to achieve her career-high kill total. She reached 19, her previous high from this past Thursday's Senior Night victory, at 21-13 and it looked as though she would stick there. However, leading 24-20, the Gothic Knights were able to have Lore set up her teammate for the game-winning kill to make it 25-20.

What's Next:
The win officially ends the Gothic Knights' regular-season. Despite not having qualified for the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) tournament, NJCU's season is not officially over just yet. Jersey City is eligible and has declared for the 2021 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship. The selections for the 15-team field will be made on Monday, Nov. 8, following the 2021 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship selections are made earlier that day.