Oct. 26, 2007

Box Score

NEWARK - NJIT defeated visiting Providence, 3-2, Friday night for what may have been the most impressive women's volleyball win by the Highlanders since they began Division I competition at the start of the 2006.

The win, NJIT's ninth this season and 19th in the last two seasons, came against a Providence team that entered the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center with a 15-8 record for the season.

The match was the first for both teams in the two-day NJIT Halloween Classic. Sacred Heart defeated Howard, 3-1, in another hard-fought match earlier on Friday

The Highlanders beat Providence with wins in the first, fourth and fifth games, while Providence won the second and third games.

NJIT dominated its wins in the first and fourth frames, while the Friars went to extra points to win the second and third. The deciding game was also tight, with NJIT breaking an 11-11 tie and scoring the last four points for a 15-11 win.

The game scores were 30-16, 29-31, 31-33 and 15-11 for the Highlanders, who will face Howard at 10 am and Sacred Heart at 4 pm on Saturday.

NJIT, playing short-handed due to the injury of season kills leader Kristy Haeckel and co-regular setter Danielle Thompson, got strong efforts from the seven players who saw action on Friday.

Junior Agnieszka Pregowska came up with a personal season-best 23 kills, followed by freshman Baaba Hughes and sophomore Katrina Hornstein with 17 kills apiece.

Erica Schultz, the healthy half of NJIT's setter tandem, produced an NJIT season-best 60 assists--three shy of Thompson's school Division I-record 63 last year against Maryland- Eastern Shore.

Sabrina Baby had her usual superb defensive floor game, coming up with 38 digs--three short of her school Division I-record 41, set this season vs. Lafayette on September 11.

Four other Highlanders had double-figure digs totals, as Hughes and Hornstein produced 18 digs apiece, Kubra Tanrikulu had 15 digs and Schultz had 13.

NJIT dominated on serve, producing 14 aces to five for Providence. Baby had eight aces and Pregowska had five. Baby served aces on the last two points of the match to secure the win.

Providence balanced its deficit in service aces by dominating the blocking game, 14 team blocks to six for NJIT. Jeanette Toney led the Friars at the net with nine blocks (4 solo and 5 assisted).

Elizabeth Flynn led the Friars offense with 15 kills, while Sara Sheehan had 45 assists. Sheehan had three of her team's five service aces and Aida Cadres had 17 digs, leading six Friars who had double-figure digs matches.

In addition to NJIT's matches at 10 am and 4 pm on Saturday, Providence will take on Sacred Heart at noon, followed by the Friars against Howard at 2 pm.