JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The New Jersey City University women's volleyball, which is seeded fourth in and serving as the host institution of the 2022 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Women's Volleyball Championship, picked up a nice comeback victory today, Saturday, Nov. 12, in a Quarterfinal Round five-setter (17-25, 25-16, 19-25, 25-21, 15-6) over #5 seed FDU-Florham.

NJCU (17-11) started off the day strong and jumped out to a 7-0 lead against the Devils (13-12) in the first set. However, FDU ended up taking the first set, 25-17, and went up one set to zero. The Gothic Knights regrouped between sets and started off the second ona 10-4 run, which included points six different players. Jersey City kept the Devils at bay for the remainder of the set and tied up the match at one apiece after a nice 25-15 win.

Set number three continued to see even play on both sides and the squads eventually reach a tie score midway through at 14-14. FDU then won seven of the next eight points to take a 21-15 lead and ultimately closed out the set, 25-19, to take a 2-1 lead. Needing to win the next set to keep their season going, the Gothic Knights found themselves trailing 9-6 early on. However, a 10-3 run put them up 16-12 and in control of the momentum once again — junior middle blocker Ashley Jimenez (West New York, N.J./Memorial) played a key role in that run with three straight service aces as part of her match-high four on the day.

However, the Devils answered right back and tied it up at 17-17 with a 5-1 run. NJCU did not falter and retaliated with six unanswered points to go up 23-17, including a pair of kills from senior right-side Paola Toledo (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Colegio Catolico San Rafael) — she led all players with a match-best 19 kills on the afternoon. FDU managed to win four of the next five points to make it 24-21 in favor of NJCU, but the home squad got one more kill from Toledo to seal it at 25-21 and force a fifth set.

The final set of the day was never in doubt for Jersey City as the fourth-seeded Gothic Knights flew out to a 12-4 lead to start, eventually finishing off the Devils 15-6 in the fifth and 3-2 in five sets for their third straight victory against FDU over the last four seasons.

Highlights:
- Senior libero Katrina Nguyendon (Union, N.J./Union) led all players with 21 digs to go with three aces.
- Junior setter Sydney Lore (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee) dished out a career- and match-high 48 assists to go with three aces and another career-best mark with 19 digs. It was her fourth double-double of the season and the 10th of her career.
- Toledo finished with 10 digs for her fourth double-double of the season and fifth of her career.
- Sophomore outside hitter Brenda Gonzalez (Union City, N.J./Dickinson) had the second-most kills on the day with 14.
- Sophomore outside hitter Rachael Pharo (Manahawkin, N.J./Southern Regional) was near a double-double with 17 digs and eight kills. 

Up Next:
Having won today's quarterfinal match, the Green and Gold advance to the Semifinal Round tomorrow, Sunday, Nov. 13, back at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC). The Gothic Knights will take on top-seeded New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) rival Kean University at 10:00 a.m. with a spot in the 2:00 p.m. championship match on the line.