Match Preview

MONTCLAIR, N.J. (November 1, 2016) – Making its first appearance in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Women's Volleyball Tournament Championship since 2006, sixth-seeded Rutgers University-Newark gave third-seeded Montclair State University all it could handle, but the Red Hawks were able to escape with a 3-1 victory in the Panzer Athletic Center.
 
Montclair State improves to 24-8 and advances to the NJAC semifinals against second-seeded Stockton University, while the Scarlet Raiders drop to 15-13 and await a potential berth in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament. That ECAC announcement is expected late Monday.
 
The set scores Tuesday night were 25-27, 25-21, 25-13 and 27-25.
 
Leading the Scarlet Raiders was junior Karolina Kopacz who had a double-double of 11 kills and 27 assists. Senior Tabitha Davis finished the match with 12 kills on the back of a .211 hitting percentage and three blocks, while junior Morgan Schweitzer and rookie Brione Lockett each delivered a pair of service aces. Junior Rebecca Ford and sophomore Nicole Polak each had four rejections to pace that R-N blockers, while junior Sue Riley lifted a team-high 19 digs. Sophomore Cassie Luken had eight kills and 15 digs, while Schweitzer added 13 digs. Senior Kathy Hormaza finished her night with 12 assists and five digs.
 
Rutgers-Newark 27, MSU 25
The Red Hawks raced out to an early 4-1 lead, and pushed the margin to six at 12-6 after 18 points. A kill from Luken and a Lockett ace as part of a 4-0 run helped R-N back into the set, and the guests would tie the score at 15 and 18 before taking the lead on a Schwetizer service ace at 20-19.
 
MSU was able to come back, getting set point at 24-22, but Rutgers-Newark answered with a Davis-Polak block and a Lockett ace to tie, and went on to win the set with a Luken kill and Red Hawk error.
 
MSU 25, Rutgers-Newark 21
The two sides went back-and-forth to start the second before a 3-0 Rutgers-Newark run made it 10-8 in the Raiders' favor. Two MSU errors would give Newark a 14-11 edge, but the hosts responded to take a 16-15 lead.
 
R-N would battle, but Montclair State eventually closed out the set on a 4-0 run to tie the match, 1-1.
 
MSU 25, Rutgers-Newark 13
Five-straight points to start the third gave the Red Hawks a lead they would never give up as MSU was able to open a 17-5 margin after 22 points.
 
Rutgers-Newark chipped away and eventually fought within eight tallies (18-10), but Montclair closed the set with seven of the final 10 points to take a 2-1 lead.
 
MSU 27, Rutgers-Newark 25
The fourth set was a battle and Rutgers-Newark nearly forced the match into a fifth and final set. The Scarlet Raiders scored 3-of-4 to start, and after Montclair rallied to take a 5-3 lead, Newark came back to take a 12-11 edge thanks to a Davis hammer.
 
The Red Hawks took the upper hand next, opening a 15-13 margin, but a 4-0 Rutgers-Newark spurt punctuated by a Schweitzer kill helped Rutgers-Newark to a 19-18 lead.
 
A Montclair State service error brought up set point for R-N at 24-23, but 4-of-5 down the stretch for the hosts clinched the triumph.
 
Rutgers-Newark finished the contest with 58 points, 45 kills, five aces, eight blocks, 43 assists and 66 digs, with the Red Hawks notching 69 points, 56 winners, eight aces, five blocks, 51 helpers and 72 digs. The hosts totaled a .194 hitting percentage, and the Scarlet Raiders ended the action at .149.