JERSEY CITY, N.J. – The New Jersey City University women's volleyball team fell 3-1 (24-26, 18-25, 25-16, 22-25) to New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) competitor Rutgers-Newark University at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC) on Thursday, September 23. This is the Gothic Knights' first loss of the season following a program-record start to the season.

NJCU (6-1, 1-1 NJAC) battled through a close first set, but the Scarlet Raiders (2-7, 1-1 NJAC) scraped away with the final two points. Momentum finally switched over to Jersey City in the third set, ending with a kill by sophomore Ashley Jimenez (West New York, N.J./Memorial). Although the Gothic Knights fell short in the final set, the team led the way with a total of 43 kills and eight blocks.

Gothic Knight junior Xarial Chandler (East Orange, N.J./University) dominated with 12 kills, followed by senior Leah Seickendick (Hoboken, N.J./Hudson Catholic) with eight and junior Paola Toledo (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Colegio Catolico San Rafael) with seven. NJCU sophomore Sydney Lore (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee) had a team-high of 36 assists, falling short of her personal record by nine. Chandler, Lore and Toledo each had a total of 11 digs. Seickendick had a season-high of 5 blocks.

UP NEXT:
The Gothic Knights will travel to Bronx to compete in the Lehman Tri-Match hosted by Lehman College on Saturday, Sept. 25. The team will face Lehman at 10:00 a.m., followed by their second match-up against Maritime College at 12:00 p.m.