Post Game Interview

NEWARK, NJ—Visiting Penn swept NJIT in three hard-fought sets, 26-24, 25-20, and 25-17 in non-conference women's volleyball Saturday evening in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.
 
Senior Alexis Genske led the way in the attack for the victorious Quakers (7-6), as she notched a match-best 12 kills, with only four errors in 27 attempts. Another senior, Alex Caldwell, finished with nine kills for Penn and she made just two errors on 19 swings.
 
Michellie McDonald-O'Brien and Hayley Molnar each added seven kills for the winner. McDonald-O'Brien did not have an error and Molnar had just two.
 
Senior setter Ronnie Bither's 25 assists for Penn were tied for match high.
 
On defense, sophomore Michelle Pereira had a match-best 11 digs for the visitors and McDonald-O'Brien was tops at the net with four total blocks (1 solo, 3 assisted).
 
For NJIT (4-11), Danica Vukotic notched a team-leading 11 kills, The Highlanders were also able to involve their middle hitters, especially early on, and Anneka Harris finished with six kills and Tess Albyn had five. The two middles combined for 11 kills and only four errors on 29 swings.
 
Emily Krachenfels, the freshman setter for the Highlanders, had 25 assists to share the match lead with her Pennsylvania counterpart Bither and Krachenfels led NJIT with 10 digs. Freshman libero Adriana Nieto and Nina Vukotic each chipped in with nine digs.
 
The Highlanders, who have been searching for consistency in their serving game, did well in that department on Saturday, serving eight aces, with four errors, while absorbing just one ace in serve receive situations. Krachenfels and another freshman, Marija Tosic each served a pair of aces for the Highlanders.
 
Harris, a junior in her first season with NJIT, finished with a team-leading three block assists.
 
The opening set, won by Penn, 26-24, was well-played and closely contested throughout. NJIT had one of its better hitting sets of the season (.316; 16 kills, 4 errors, 38 attempts) and Penn was even better (.432; 19 kills, 3 errors, 37 attempts).
 
Three Quakers—Genske, McDonald-O'Brien, and Molnar—had four kills each and combined, they had 12 kills and four errors. Nina Vukotic had all six of her kills for the match in the opening set.
 
Neither team led the opening frame by more than two points until a kill by Genske gave Penn a 21-18 advantage. That would be the biggest spread and the score was tied at 22, 23, and 24 before the Quakers used back-to-back kills by Genske and McDonald-O'Brien to claim the set 26-24.
 
NJIT scored the first point of the second set, but Penn quickly seized control and went up 11-2. The Highlanders spent the rest of the frame playing from behind, but they chipped away and closed the gap to a single point, 20-21, after a Nina Vukotic service ace. The visitors, however, rattled off four straight points to win the set 25-20.
 
The third and final set was close early, as the Highlanders took a 5-3 lead and still led 9-8. However, Penn used a 6-0 run to push ahead 14-9 and NJIT did not get closer than four points of the lead the rest of the way.
 
Next up for the Highlanders is a match at one of their local rivals, Saint Peter's. NJIT will travel less than 10 miles to the East to take on Saint Peter's Wednesday at 7 pm in Jersey City.