EASTON, PA—The NJIT women's volleyball team concluded the 2016 Lafayette Tournament Saturday, dropping a 3-1 decision to Manhattan on the campus of Lafayette College at the Kirby Sports Center.
The Highlanders (7-7) finish the tournament with a 2-1 overall record, with wins against Lafayette (3-1) and St. Francis Brooklyn (3-2). NJIT sophomore libero
Adriana Nieto and newcomer
Mikalah Hughes were named to the all-tournament team.
Nieto recorded double-digit digs in all three matches, with a high of 23 vs. St. Francis Brooklyn. The sophomore combined for 42 digs (3.23dps). Hughes posted 23 kills (1.77kps), hit .260 in the three matches and registered 12 total blocks (0.92bps).
Manhattan, which has won four consecutive matches, improves to 4-10 on the season.
The Japers took the first two frames, 25-19 and 25-23, for a 2-0 lead over NJIT. The Highlanders bounced back in the third set with a comfortable, 25-13 victory. The Jaspers, which hit .250 in the fourth set, won 25-22 to clinch the match, 3-1.
The Highlanders, who registered more kills than the Jaspers, 56-to-46, had four players record double-digit kill totals led by junior
Tess Albyn and senior
Katarzyna Klocek with 11 kills followed by senior co-captain
Anneka Harris and middle Hughes with 10 each.
Setter
Anna Rodrigues was the match-leader with 43 assists, a new career mark for the junior transfer, to go along with nine digs, five kills and three block assists.
Nieto paced the NJIT defense with 17 digs followed by Klocek (14) and
Weronika Wiezik (13). The Highlanders combined for an 8-to-6 team blocking advantage, led by Klocek and Hughes with four assists apiece and Harris (one solo, three assists).
In the service ace category, NJIT edged the Jaspers, 8-6, paced by Rodrigues,
Emily Krachenfels and Nieto with two aces each. Manhattan's Alyssa Rehrer recorded five of the Jaspers six aces.
Manhattan's Milena Janjusevic notched a double-double with a match-best 13 kills and shared match-high honors with teammate Allie Yamashiro and NJIT's Nieto with 17 digs. Sandra Lozanova added 11 kills for the Jaspers.
Jasper setter Zoe Lindsey piled up a team-best 41 assists and added six digs. Marissa Behrens combined for five total blocks (one solo, four assists) in the win.
The first set seesawed back-and-forth with neither team, leading by three, until the Jaspers went on a run in the late teens, pushing its lead to five, 19-14, resulting in an NJIT timeout. The Highlanders went on a 4-1 spurt, pulling within two, 18-20. After a Manhattan timeout, the Jaspers used a 5-1 run to close out the set 25-19.
In the second frame, which saw 16 ties and six lead changes, the final tie at 22, after a kill by NJIT's Harris, Manhattan went on a 3-1 spurt to secure the 25-23 victory to go up 2-0.
The Highlanders opened the third set on a 9-4 spurt and later extended its lead to 20-12, earning the 25-13 victory comfortably.
In the fourth and final set, NJIT held an 18-12 advantage mid-way through the set. The Jaspers used a 10-1 run and went ahead for good, 22-19. Manhattan went on to win 25-22.
NJIT will travel to nearby Jersey City and face Saint Peter's for the second meeting this season on September 20 at 7pm. The Highlanders defeated the Peacock, 3-1, on September 13 in Newark.
