LANGHORNE, Pa. — Entering Tuesday night, Sept. 14, the New Jersey City University women's volleyball program was riding a three-match winning streak to start the year. It was the Gothic Knights best start to a season since 2012, when they also started 3-0. With that pressure on their shoulders, the Knights faced off with Cairn University in their first road contest of the season, and despite falling down early after dropping the first set, NJCU battled all the way back to win it in five hard-fought sets (18-25, 25-15, 25-21, 18-25, 15-10). The victory accomplished a historical feat never before achieved in program history, which dates back to the 1983 season — the Gothic Knights have started the season 4-0 for the first time ever.

As mentioned, Jersey City (4-0) fell behind early to the Highlanders (2-5) after dropping the first set. However, NJCU stormed back to win the second and third sets and take a 2-1 lead in the match. Then, after dropping the fourth set which allowed Cairn to force a decisive fifth, the Knights clamped down and emerged victorious to take the victory. Leading the way throughout the night was rookie outside hitter Rachael Pharo (Manahawkin, N.J./Southern Regional) and junior middle blocker Xarial Chandler (East Orange, N.J./University). The former, although she had a tough night efficiency wise, notched a match-best 11 kills to go with three aces and a career- and game-high 23 digs, keeping NJCU in it with every defensive touch all match long. Chandler's 10 kills was a season-high as she reached that total on 24 swings with five errors (.208 hitting percentage). She also had seven digs, two aces and a pair of blocks.

The second set started out 3-1 in favor of Cairn, however NJCU took the next three points to make it 4-3 in its favor. Then, up 8-7 later in the set, the Gothic Knights jumped out on an 8-0 run and found themselves up 16-7. Chandler and freshman Dayshia Espinosa (El Paso, Texas/Pebble Hills) each notched a pair of kills during that run — the latter finished the night with seven kills. NJCU finished the set 9-8, but the damage was done and the squad managed to knot it up at one set apiece.

The second set was a wild one, back and forth throughout, going all the way toward the end of the set when the Gothic Knights held a slim 19-17 advantage and were in need of a run to stretch the gap. A 5-1 run came next, with all five points coming on Highlander attack errors, and NJCU was suddenly up 24-18 and one point away from taking the 2-1 lead. After a trio of attack errors of their own, the Gothic Knights used a Cairn service error to seal the set 25-21.

Cairn managed to regain momentum in the fourth set and, with a seven-point advantage, forced the fifth set after evening things up at two apiece. In that fifth and final set, the teams once again battled back and forth to the tune of a 9-8 score in favor of NJCU just past the halfway mark of the game. However the Gothic Knights used a 6-2 run to close out the set and take the well-earned five-set victory. The run was started thanks to a kill from sophomore Alexis Newsome (Watchung, N.J./Hudson Catholic). Pharo chipped in an ace in the stretch, while junior right-side Paola Toledo (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Colegio Catolico San Rafael) also notched a kill.

Highlights:
- Newsome finished the night with seven kills and eight digs — both career highs.
- Senior middle blocker Leah Seickendick (Hoboken, N.J./Hudson Catholic) once again stood tall at the net and led all players with four total blocks. She added six kills as well.
- Toledo ended the match with five kills, five digs and three total blocks.
- Sophomore setter Sydney Lore (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee) led all players with a career-best 39 assists. She also contributed eight digs and two aces.
- Senior libero Madeline Lopez (Elizabeth, N.J./Hudson Catholic) tied her career high in digs with 17 on the night. She also dished out four assists and notched three service aces.

Up Next:
The Gothic Knights return to action this Saturday afternoon, Sept. 18, at 4:00 p.m. when Saint Elizabeth University comes to Jersey City for a non-conference match at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC). The match against the Eagles was originally scheduled for this coming Friday on the road, but was pushed to Saturday and will now take place at the JMAC. Follow all the action live on GothicVision.