Box score
WASHINGTON, DC—NJIT may not have won Saturday's women's volleyball match at American University, but the Highlanders continued to earn respect, forcing the powerful Eagles close to the limit in a 3-2 American victory.
The teams split the first four sets, with American winning the first and third frames easily (25-11 and 25-14). But NJIT answered each time (25-22 in the second and 25-23 in the fourth), before the Eagles finally escaped with the decidng set (15-11) and the match.
Saturday's win lifts American's season record to 12-6, while NJIT is 11-9, but won-lost records tell only part of the story.
American began 2008 with a deceptive 5-6 record. But the losses were all on the road against the likes of Texas A&M, Brigham Young, Long Beach State, Wisconsin and Marquette.
Since returning to a regional and conference schedule and some home matches, American has won seven straight (including the 3-2 win over NJIT).
American, a perennial mid-major power, was 26-8 overall in 2007 and returns five starters from a team that went 13-1 in the Patriot League regular season before winning the conference tournament and a berth in the NCAA Division I Tournament.
The Eagles have won at least 22 matches in each of the last 11 seasons and they have made the NCAA Division I tournament nine times in that span, including every season since 2001.
NJIT, on the other hand, is only now emerging as a threat in its third season facing Division I competition.
The last time the Highlanders won as many as 20 matches in a season was 1990, when the program competed at the Division III level. During NJIT's Division II era (1998 to 2005) the Highlanders' season high for wins was 13 and in the transition to Division I competition, they won 10 in the first year (2006) and improved to 13 last season.
However, before losing its last two matches to strong foes—Army and American—NJIT had taken a school Division I-record eight straight matches.
Against that background, Saturday's match at American was a measuring stick for NJIT's growth as a Division I program and the Highlanders acquitted themselves well.
American was stronger in the attack, outhitting the Highlanders as a team, 68 kills to 48, and in hitting percentage, .286 to .110.
The NJIT leaders on offense were freshman Renata Pandolfo with 12 kills and Agnieszka Pregowska and Katrina Hornstein, with 10 apiece.
Erica Schultz triggered the attack with 38 assists and the serving game was nearly even (eight aces for American to seven for NJIT). Schultz had two aces, while five teammates all contributed one each.
Pandolfo, in addition to being a dangerous hitter, is a fine floor defender and she had a match-high 21 digs, while Sabrina Baby added 14 digs for NJIT.
At the net, American had a 13-10 team blocking advantage. Pregowska and Pandolfo tied for the NJIT lead in individual blocks with six each. Pregowska had one solo block and five assists, while Pandolfo had six block assists.
The American leaders were: Rubena Sukaj and Rebecca Heath (19 kills each); Christina Nash (51 assists); Sukaj (five service aces); Cynammon Burns (16 digs); and, Claire Recht (seven blocks—all block assists).
American took the first set easily. With the score tied at 2-2, the Eagles went on a 9-0 run to pull away and still led, 13-6, following a Pandolfo kill for NJIT. The Eagles answered that kill with six straight points for insurmountable 19-6 lead.
American led the second set, 9-4, after scoring four consecutive points, but NJIT countered with its own streak, cutting the deficit to 8-9. Neither team led by more than two until a three-point spurt extended the Eagles to an 18-14 advantage. However, the Highlanders fought back and eventually tied the set at 21 on a kill by Pandolfo and then went ahead, 24-21, on a kill for Pregowska, a service ace for freshman Audrey Snell and a block by Pregowska and Pandolfo.
The Highlanders jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the third frame, but AU responded quickly and took the lead for good at 5-4 on a kill by Sukaj before coasting, 25-14.
Much as it had after losing the first set decisively, NJIT rebounded its third-set loss and quickly took control in the fourth, 7-2. American came back, but the Highlanders stayed on top until the Eagles tied the score at 16 on an ace by Sukaj. However, her error on the next serve put NJIT back into the lead and the teams jostled back and forth until Hornstein's kill gave the Highlanders a 23-22 lead they would not surrender. That kill was part of a 3-0 run that lifted NJIT out of a 21-22 hole into a 24-22 lead. Heath had a kill for American before Hornstein clinched the set for NJIT with a kill.
American jumped to a quick lead in the fifth set, going up 4-1. The Eagles led by at least one point through the entire deciding set, coming the closest at 7-8, which forced an AU timeout. The Eagles came out of the huddle and went on a 4-1 run to lead 12-8 and held on down the stretch to claim the 15-11 win.
NJIT, which has played its last three matches against teams from the Patriot League, continues its tour of that conference when it travels to Easton, PA, on Tuesday for a 7 pm match at Lafayette.
The Highlanders defeated Lehigh last Tuesday and then lost to the Patriot League's two tops teams—Army on Wednesday and American on Saturday.
