Women's Volleyball | 10/21/2016 12:07:00 PM
NEWARK, NJ—The NJIT women's volleyball team enters the second half of the ASUN Conference volleyball season, hosting USC Upstate on Saturday and non-conference opponent Marist with both matches slated for 1pm in the Fleisher Athletic Center.
A Look at NJIT (8-16; 0-7 ASUN)
Next Four Matches: vs. USC Upstate (10/22; 1 PM); vs. Marist (10/23; 1 PM - Highlander Network); vs. Kennesaw State (10/28; 7 PM); vs. Lipscomb (10/30; 1 PM)
Last Three Matches: L, 0-3 at Fairleigh Dickinson; L, 0-3 at Kennesaw State; L, 0-3 at Lipscomb
NJIT seeks its first conference win of the 2016 season against USC Upstate after forcing the Spartans to five sets earlier in the year.
The Highlanders, with eight overall wins, have already improved upon the record from last season, after winning just six in 2015.
Senior
Weronika Wiezik scored double-digit kills for the 11th time this season with a match-high of 11 against Fairleigh Dickinson.
Libero
Adriana Nieto leads the ASUN with 35 aces, tying the sophomore for 12
th in the nation. Nieto has notched 18 double-figure dig totals this season, ranking third in the conference at 4.51dps. Nieto also ranks third with 356 total digs.
Middle
Mikalah Hughes leads the Highlanders with .73 blocks per set and is one of the team's most accurate hitters, with a .255 hitting percentage.
A Look at USC Upstate (11-13; 3-4 ASUN)
Next Three Matches: at NJIT (10/22; 1 PM); vs. Lipscomb (10/28; 6 PM); vs. Kennesaw State (10/30; 2 PM)
Last Three Matches: L, 1-3 at Lipscomb; L, 0-3 at Kennesaw State; W, 3-0 vs. Jacksonville
USC Upstate will be looking for a win at NJIT this weekend, after dropping their previous three road matchups.
The Spartans have more digs (1,610) and attack attempts (3,561) than any other Division I team in the country.
The Spartans' 10 blocks against Lipscomb are the most in a four-set match since beating UT-Martin in September of 2015.
Setter Madison Haake is second in the ASUN with 805 assists and has posted 15 double-doubles in 2016.
Kaleigh Kelley's 409 digs place her second in the conference and 19
th in the nation.
A Look at Marist (7-13)
Next Match: at Siena (10/22; 1pm); at NJIT (10/23; 1pm)
Marist, who is on a stretch of four matches away from Poughkeepsie, New York, will face Siena prior to traveling to the Highlanders on Sunday. The Red Foxes have dropped its previous two matches against Quinnipiac and Fairfield.
Marist lost its contests against Quinnipiac (3-2) and Fairfield (3-0) last weekend. Junior Kelsey Ediger slammed a match-high 24 kills alongside 13 digs against the Bobcats on Oct. 15. Sophomore Taylor van der Biezen ended up with a career-high 50 assists.
Ediger is second on the Red Foxes in kills (176) and points (196) this season. She registered her second double-double of the season against Quinnipiac. Millington is tied for fourth in the MAAC with 29 service aces and her 4.75 digs per set put her at second place in the conference.
Megan Fergus paces the Red Foxes with 2.70kps and ranks second on the team in team blocks (0.57).
Setter Taylor vander Biezen is the team leader with 428 assists while Lexi Millington paces the Red Foxes with 342 digs (4.75dps) and 29 aces.
