Sept. 15, 2006

Box Score

BRONX, NY - New Jersey Institute of Technology swept to a 3-0 win over Saint Peter's in women's volleyball action Friday afternoon at Fordham's Rose Hill Classic tournament.

The Highlanders, playing a Division I schedule this season for the first time, recorded their third win of 2006 in impressive fashion. NJIT took the first and third games easily (30-18 and 30-22, respectively), sandwiched around a tight 30-27 decision in the second frame.

The win for NJIT (3-8) avenged a season-opening 3-1 loss for the Highlanders against Saint Peter's back on August 25 in the Army Invitational.

Aside from the added experience since the season opener for a young team (used four sophomores and three freshmen on Friday), a key difference for NJIT was the presence of freshman Sabrina Baby. The Brazilian did not play in NJIT's first two matches of the season (including the opener vs. Saint Peter's), but in the rematch, she recorded match-high totals of 5 service aces and 16 digs.

The aces were crucial, as NJIT enjoyed an 8-4 advantage as a team and Baby led a Highlander defense that saw four different players reach double figures in digs, as Aggie Pregowska, Danielle Thompson and Kasha Hornstein all had 10 digs apiece.

Another freshman, Kristy Haeckel, recorded a match-high 11 kills and 4 blocks for the Highlanders, who had a 6-2 team blocking advantage at the net. Haeckel had a .409 attack percentage, making just 2 errors on 22 tries.

Sophomore middle hitter Rebecca Wilkinson was even more efficient than Haeckel, notching 8 kills without an error in 15 attempts for a .533 attack percentage. The attacks were triggered by setter Danielle Thompson, whose 25 assists were match-high.

The Rose Hill Classic continues on Saturday. NJIT, which split Friday's matches, losing to host Fordham before beating Saint Peter's, will take on Maine at 9 am and Tulsa at 2 pm on Saturday.