NEWARK, NJ—NJIT women's volleyball showed its 2014 growth on Friday, taking a 3-1 Senior Night victory over visiting Coppin State, a team that had swept the Highlanders in the 2014 opener back in late August.
 
NJIT (10-19) honored its four seniors—Valerie Carroll, Fran Edmondson, Katie Goswick, and Camilla Tinari—in pre-match ceremonies Friday in the Fleisher Athletic Center and then the Highlanders went on the court and knocked off Coppin by a score of 25-15, 25-22, 17-25, and 25-14.
 
In the season opener on August 29 at the La Salle Tournament in Philadelphia, Coppin State took a 25-23, 25-20, and 25-19. Coppin (13-12) came into Friday night's match at NJIT having won its previous 3 matches in a row and 6 of the previous 8.
 
The Senior Night star in the NJIT attack was a junior, Danica Vukotic, who hammered 20 kills, with just a pair of errors in 41 swings for a .439 hitting percentage. Edmondson, one of the honored seniors, also had a big hitting match, nailing 11 kills with two errors on 25 attempts for an impressive .360 hitting percentage.
 
Freshman setter Alyssa Armada picked up 33 assists and the Highlanders doubled Coppin State in service aces, 8-4. With Nina Vukotic, Danica's twin sister, and the senior Carroll each notching three aces.
 
Tinari, the senior libero from Italy, led the NJIT floor defense, coming up with 14 digs, while Danica Vukotic came up just short of an offense-defense double-double, pairing 9 digs with her 20 kills. Edmondson also just missed her own double-double, getting 9 digs, followed by 8 for the setter, Armada.
 
NJIT tripled Coppin State in total team blocks, 9.0-to-3.0—led by 4 block assists apiece from Armada and Carroll. Edmondson and Kat Janssen each added 3 block assists for the Highlanders.
 
The visiting Eagles had two players with double-figure kills totals—Ariel Richard (16) and Maya Horner (10). Setter Chelsee Sauni had a match-best 35 assists and served all of her team's aces.
 
Three CSU players reached double-figures in digs, led by 17 from senior Gabrielle Otero.
 
The first set was tied 3-3 before NJIT scored back-to-back points, taking the lead for good. The Highlanders took full command with a 6-0 run that made it 15-7. NJIT later took an 11-point lead and held eight different 10-point leads, including 25-15 at the end of the set.
 
The second set was closer with 9 ties and 3 lead changes. The last tie was 22-22, but Carroll and Edmondson combined for a block that sparked a 3-point run to a 25-22 win in the second set.
 
Coppin State stayed alive by dominating the third set. The Eagles led until back-to-back kills by Danica Vukotic made an 8-8 tie, but Horner answered with a kill for CSU that triggered a 10-0 run for the visitors who coasted, 25-17.
 
The reprieve was fleeting, however, as NJIT took the fourth set and, consequently, the match without ever trailing in the final frame. Leading 21-14, NJIT scored the last 4 points of the night, two of which involved Janssen blocks. The freshman combined with her classmate Armada to start the run and followed with a block solo. After a CSU attack error, Danica Vukotic delivered match point with her 20th kill of the night.
 
NJIT will wrap up the home part of its schedule next with a November 14 6 pm visit by Howard to the Fleisher Athletic Center.