NEWARK, NJ—NJIT women's volleyball opened its Halloween Classic with a 3-0 win over Providence, as the Highlanders set a new program Division I wins record Friday night in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.

NJIT, 14-11, won the first two sets comfortably (25-15 and 25-16), before clinching the match with a come-from-behind 25-23 win in the third set.

NJIT, which is in its third season competing at the Division I level, won 10 matches in its first season (2006) and then finished 13-24 in 2007. This year's Highlanders have five regular season matches left, plus the Independent Tournament in late November

Providence, which competes as a Division I Independent in women's volleyball, is 13-13 on the season. The Friars had beaten NJIT in their only 2006 meeting and the teams split last season's two matches before meeting for the first time in 2008 on Friday.

A fair amount of NJIT's improvement stems from the diversity of its attack, which includes as many as five dangerous hitters. Five Highlanders notched between seven and 11 kills in the win over Providence.

Sophomore Baaba Hughes was the leader with 11 kills and only two errors. Freshman Renata Pandolfo added nine kills and only two errors, while Agnieszka Pregowska and Katrina Hornstein finished with eight kills apiece. Kristy Haeckel produced seven kills. NJIT setters Erica Schultz (30 assists) and Danielle Thompson (four assists) spread the ball around well all night.

The Highlanders dominated the serving game, firing 10 aces to one for the Friars. Six different NJIT players served aces, led by Pregowska, the senior, and Pandolfo, the freshman, with three aces each.

Sabrina Baby of the Highlanders was the star defender on the floor, coming up with 25 digs in a match where no one else on either team got more than nine.

Providence had a 6-to-5 team blocking edge and Haeckel led the Highlanders with three total blocks (1 solo, 2 assists).

Friar senior Jeanette Toney led her team's attack with a match-best 12 kills and classmate Sara Sheehan passed 25 assists. Abby Majewski registered PC's only service ace.

Toney and Emily Morris were the team digs leaders with nine apiece and Toney's three blocks (2 solo, 1 assist) were team-high.

NJIT jumped to a 9-2 lead in the first set and led by at least five points and as many as 14 (24-10), before claiming the 25-15 win. Hughes was dominant with six kills and no errors in eight swings.

Providence was strong opening the second set and took an early 7-3 lead. But the Highlanders answered with an 11-2 run that made it 14-9 and NJIT never looked back in its 25-16 win.

The Friars again grabbed a 7-3 lead to open the third set and NJIT again fought back, closing to 8-9 on a kill by Hornstein. Providence held fast, however, and stayed on top, pushing its lead back to 18-13.

The Highlanders made another push, but didn't force a tie until another Hughes kill made it 21-21. The Friars went back up by single-point margins twice, the last at 23-22, before NJIT closed out the match with a 3-0 run--a kill by Pandolfo on the 23rd point, an ace by Pregowska for the 24th point and a combined block by Haeckel and Thompson on match point.

NJIT's Halloween Classic will feature four matches on Saturday, starting with a 10 am match between Bryant and Providence. The first action for the Highlanders will be a noon start against Bryant.

Providence and Howard will play at 2 pm and the tournament will close with a 4 pm match between NJIT and Howard.

Friday's other match in the Halloween Classic was a 3-1 win by Bryant over Howard.

Nearly 20 students took part in a Halloween costume contest between sets two and three of the NJIT-Providence match Friday night.