JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The New Jersey City University women's volleyball team picked up its first victory of the 2023 season tonight, Thursday, Sept. 7, at home at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC). The Gothic Knights swept the City College of New York in three sets (25-20, 25-16, 26-24) as three different players recorded three service aces on the night.
 
NJCU (1-2) took the first two sets comfortably from CCNY (1-1), but the Beavers took a commanding 17-11 lead in set three. The Gothic Knights clawed their way back by going on a 12-4 run via heroics from junior outside hitter Brenda Gonzalez (Union City, N.J./Dickinson) and senior middle blocker Ashley Jimenez (West New York, N.J./Memorial), each earning 18.5 points and 8.0 points on the night, respectively. Gonzalez finished as the match's kills leader (15), while sophomore right- side hitter Kiki Lugo (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) recorded double digit kills for the first time in her career with 10 on the night.

Senior Olivia Sanchez (West New York, N.J./Memorial) was called upon to make her first-career start at the libero spot against CCNY. She slotted in seamlessly and ended the match with career-highs in aces (3) and digs (11). Senior Katrina Nguyendon (Union, N.J./Union) slotted into the primary setter role once again and led all players with a match-best 23 assists on the night.

As a team, NJCU combined for 39 kills on a .207 hitting percentage, compared to the Beavers' 21 kills on .084. Defensively, the Gothic Knights logged 49 digs compared to CCNY's 43.

Up Next:
The Gothic Knights return to Coach Charlie Brown Court at the JMAC to begin New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play on Tuesday night, Sept. 19, for a 7:00 p.m. home match against Rutgers-Newark. Just around this time last year, the Gothic Knights swept the Scarlet Raiders, the largest margin of victory in the matchup in favor of the Green and Gold since 2009.