MIDDLETOWN, PA. - The New Jersey City University (NJCU) women's volleyball team split a Saturday doubleheader on Sept. 20 at the Capitol Union Building. The Gothic Knights opened the day with a dominant straight-sets win over the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg (25-18, 25-21, 25-17) to remain unbeaten, but later suffered their first loss of the season, falling in three sets to host Penn State-Harrisburg (25-18, 25-22, 25-20).

MATCH ONE: NJCU 3, UPitt-Greensburg 0
The Gothic Knights (8-0) continued their undefeated run with a commanding performance against UPitt-Greensburg, posting a solid .213 hitting percentage (42 kills on 108 attempts), while holding the Bobcats to just .053 (20 kills on 95 attempts). The Green and Gold outpaced their opponent in points (59-25), kills (42-20), aces (13-5), blocks (4-0), assists (39-16), and digs (56-39).

Graduate student Diane Pugay (Jersey City, N.J./Infinity Institute) led all players with 14 kills and added three digs. Freshman Kai Fitzpatrick (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough High School) put in another impressive two-way effort with eight kills, eight digs, and four service aces. Junior Taylor Riccio (Nutley, N.J./Paramus Catholic) contributed a season-best five kills and three digs, while sophomore setter Rae Marrero (Medford, NY/Patchogue Medford) dished out 30 assists, notched 12 digs, and added a service ace—earning her second double-double of the year. Defensively, sophomore Elisabeth Brito (Jersey City, N.J./Union City) was everywhere, finishing with a game-high 14 digs, along with a career-best four aces and seven assists. Freshman middle blocker Munchim Nwobu anchored the net with a game-high three total blocks and chipped in four kills.

UPitt-Greensburg was led by Racey Scheuerman's six kills and four digs. Emily Hernandez added 12 digs, one service ace, and an assist in a losing effort.
Set one opened tightly with NJCU holding a narrow 7-6 lead before the Bobcats surged ahead 10-7. The Gothic Knights quickly evened the score at 10 with a kill from Pugay, an ace from Jenlisa Pichardo, and a Greensburg error. Down 13-12, NJCU went on an 11-3 run, highlighted by four aces and a kill by Marrero, to take control and eventually close out the set 25-18 on two Bobcat attack errors.

Set two saw NJCU burst out to a 9-2 lead with five kills and three aces in the first stretch. The Bobcats managed to rally and close the gap to 16-13, but a kill by Nwobu and three more from Pugay helped NJCU extend the lead again. Freshman Alexis Albino (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne) recorded her first collegiate kill during the 6-2 run. UPitt made one last push, closing to within three (22-19), but NJCU sealed the set 25-21 with a service ace from Marrero and two Bobcat errors.

In set three, UPitt-Greensburg opened with a 4-2 lead before senior Briana Melanson's kill sparked a 9-1 Gothic Knight run. During that stretch, junior Kiley Jurcisin (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne) added three kills to build an 11-5 cushion. From there, NJCU never looked back, and Jurcisin's service ace sealed the 25-17 set and the 3-0 sweep.

MATCH TWO: Penn State-Harrisburg 3, NJCU 0
In their second match of the day, the Gothic Knights (8-1) faced a tougher test against a well-organized Penn State-Harrisburg (7-3) squad. Despite solid defensive numbers, NJCU struggled offensively, finishing with a season-low .030 hitting percentage (31 kills on 100 attempts), while the Cougars hit .220 (32-100). PSU-Harrisburg held the edge in total points (50-37), service aces (11-5), and blocks (7-1), while NJCU led in assists (30-25) and digs (55-34).

Pugay once again led the attack with 12 kills and seven digs. Fitzpatrick added 11 kills and seven digs of her own, while Marrero notched her second double-double of the day—third of the season—with 25 assists and 14 digs. She also chipped in three service aces, a block, and a kill. Brito set a new season-high with 17 digs and added three assists and an ace.

For Penn State-Harrisburg, Brianna Ondishin Ribon paced the offense with 12 kills, three digs, an assist, and a block. Kate Bukowski led the defense with nine digs, four assists, and one kill.

Set one began with the Cougars taking an early 6-2 lead. NJCU briefly rallied with a 6-1 run to go ahead 8-7, maintaining the lead until PSU tied it at 16 following a Gothic Knight attack error. The Cougars then surged ahead with three straight points, including two kills from Ondishin Ribon, and closed the set on a 10-2 run to win 25-18.

In set two, NJCU jumped out to a 10-5 lead following a 7-0 run sparked by back-to-back Riccio kills. However, the Cougars responded with a 9-0 run of their own—capitalizing on four NJCU attack errors—to go up 14-10. The Gothic Knights fought back and tied the set at 21 with a kill from Pugay, but PSU-Harrisburg closed it out with a 4-1 run, winning 25-22 on another NJCU error.

Set three saw NJCU take a brief 5-4 lead, but the Cougars quickly regained control with an 8-2 run to go up 12-7. Fitzpatrick delivered a kill to help NJCU close the gap to 13-11, but offensive struggles and a strong finish by Penn State-Harrisburg sealed the set 25-20 and the match, handing the Gothic Knights their first loss of the season.

UP NEXT:
The Gothic Knights return home to open New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play on Tuesday, Sept. 23, when they host the Scarlet Raiders of Rutgers-Newark at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC). First serve is set for 7:00 p.m.

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