New Jersey City University Athletics

2014 WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL MATCH #18:
New Jersey City University Gothic Knights (4-13; Streak: WON 2) vs.
Farmingdale State College Rams (8-15; Streak: WON 1)

John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center | Coach Charlie Brown Court | Jersey City, NJ | 7 p.m.

QUICK LINKS: LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

FOR STARTERS: NJCU seeks its third consecutive victory after a 0-10 start to the season. The Rams have won two of three after losing five straight and eight of nine prior to the last three matches.

THE SERIES vs FARMINGDALE STATE: NJCU leads all-time series, 8-5.

LAST MEETING: November 2, 2013 in Jersey City, NJ. Farmingdale State defeated NJCU 3-1 (25-20, 25-13, 20-25, 25-11). Shege Haxhaj was the top player for NJCU, landing nine kills (9-7-28, .071) Indigo Hatcher added five kills and three aces. Cindy Garcia, a 2014 graduate, finished with 22 assists while landing three aces. FSC landed a total of 43 kills, 14 of them coming from Sarah Palladina. She also had double digit digs (10) and three blocks. Maia Cadle-Hinton added 11 winners and a .400 attack percentage.   

LAST TIME OUT: NJCU faced Centenary College on Tuesday and won, 3-1 (25-17, 22-25, 25-19, 25-17). Senior middle hitter Jade Medley finished with 15 kills and hit .273 (15-6-33) while adding six digs and two solo blocks. Shege Haxhaj hit .267 with 11 kills (11-3-30). New Jersey Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week Rachel McIntyre dished 31 assists. Senior right side Ashley Latushko defended 12 digs while forcing four aces.  

WINNING STREAK: The Gothic Knights are on a momentum swing after winning the last two matches. They defeated Cedar Crest College in a five-set match, 3-2 (14-25, 23-25, 25-10, 25-22, 15-11), on October 4, prior to win at Centenary.

1000-POINT MEDLEY: Jade Medley reached a historical plateau on Tuesday, becoming the sixth Gothic Knight to register 1,000 career points.  She is entering today’s match with 1007.5 career points—858 kills, 11 service aces, 102 solo blocks and 73 assisted blocks. She moved into fifth place in school history in kills in the win over Centenary.

THE MEDLEY MATH: Medley, with 858 career kills, has passed Cheryl Nitschke (1992-95) who had 857 kills in four years for NJCU and graduated as the program’s all-time leader in 1995. Medley needs 142 kills to become the fourth Gothic Knight with 1,000 career kills. With 16 matches remaining, Medley would need to average 8.88 kills per match to reach the milestone. In the unlikely event all 16 matches were only three sets, she would need to average 2.96 kills per set. She is currently averaging 2.97 per set for the season.

MCINWINNER: Rachel McIntyre was named the New Jersey Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week for week six of the 2014 season on Tuesday. She is the first Gothic Knight to take home the award in eight seasons. McIntyre, a 5-foot-7 double major in Criminal Justice and Creative Writing, is the first NJCU player named NJAC Rookie of the Week since Alex Johanesen, also a setter, took home the honor in weeks one and three of the 2007 campaign. In four matches last week, McIntyre tallied 114 assists and 35 digs, averaging 7.12 assists and 2.19 digs per set while notching a pair of double-doubles—the second and third of her young career. She attends the University on a full Presidential academic scholarship

DOUBLE DIGIT MIDDLES: Both of NJCU’s middles, Jade Medley and Shege Haxhaj have reached double figures in kills multiple times in their career. Medley has reached double digits in kills 34 times in her career and nine times this season. Haxhaj has accomplished the feat five times this year and 10 times as a collegian.

ABOUT FARMINGDALE STATE: The Rams have won two of the last three matches, sweeping both Old Westbury and York. They come into today’s match with an overall 8-15 record with a 2-2 SKYLINE Conference mark. FSC looks to improve their 1-4 away record. Sarah Palladino leads the Rams with 156 kills and is second on the team with points (227.5) behind Maia Cadle-Hinton (248.5).