Box Score
 
GRAND FORKS, ND – Junior Janet Snell registered a double-double with a match-high 24 kills and 13 digs for NJIT en route to a 3-1 victory over Chicago State in the first round of the 2011 Great West Conference Tournament hosted by University of North Dakota Thursday evening at Betty Engelstad.
 
With the win, NJIT advances to the semifinals to face Great West Conference regular season champion Utah Valley (22-8) on Friday at 5pm.  Chicago State closes out the 2011 season with a 3-28 overall record.
 
In the regular season, Utah Valley took both matches from the Highlanders – 3-0 in Orem, Utah on October 8 and 3-2 in Newark on October 20.
 
Snell, a second team all-GWC honoree, posted her 11^th double-double of the season pacing the Highlanders to a 17-25, 25-21, 25-17 and 25-19.
 
Following Snell's match-high 24 kills was classmate Renata Pandolfo, who posted a double-double of her own with 18 kills and 14 digs for NJIT.
 
Middle Julia Colombo combined for eight kills with one error on 18 swings for a .389 hitting percentage for the Highlanders while Cathy Leung added seven and 13 digs.
 
Leading the Highlanders (11-17) defensively, was senior libero Audrey Snell with a team-high 20 digs followed by Pandolfo (14), Janet Snell (13) and Leung (13).
 
Setter Anna Mercado piled up a match-high 48 assists and added eight digs.  Mercado shared match-high honors with Chicago State's Emily Kramolisch with two service aces.  The Highlanders held a slight advantage, 5-3.
 
Chicago State was led by Rachel Levitt and Alexandra Mason.  Levit posted 13 kills while Mason posted a double-double with 13 kills and 10 digs to go along with six total blocks (2 solo, 4 assists).  Mazvita Maziveyi
added nine kills and five digs for Chicago State.
 
Libero Mysta Townsell dug-up a match-high 24 digs followed by Mason with 10 digs.  Setter Kramolisch notched 42 assists and seven digs.