BRONX, NY—NJIT had three players reach double-figure kill totals led by senior Katarzyna Klocek with a team-best 15 kills, as the visiting Highlanders pulled out a 3-2 victory at Fordham on day two of the Terrier/Fordham Invitational at Rose Hill Gymnasium on the campus of Fordham.

The Highlanders (3-3) took the first two sets, 25-23 and 25-17.  Fordham (3-3), down 0-2, won the next two frames, 25-23 and 25-19, forcing a fifth and deciding set.

In the deciding set, Fordham scored the first point and the Highlanders scored nine straight, taking a 9-1 lead. Fordham fought back, going on an 8-2 spurt, pulling within two of the visitors, 12-14, resulting in a Highlander timeout.  The Highlanders went on to win, 15-12, on a Ram service error.

NJIT will conclude the Terrier/Fordham Invitational in Brooklyn at 5pm when the Highlanders face St. Francis Brooklyn.

In addition to Klocek's 15 kills, Weronika Wiezik and Anneka Harris each registered 10 kills apiece.  Harris, the Highlanders senior co-captain, recorded a .588 hitting percentage on 17 attempts and no errors.

Freshman setter Liz Benson notched a double-double with 25 assists and 14 digs.  Benson has now recorded 20+ assists in each of the Highlanders six matches.  Newcomer Anna Rodrigues added nine assists.

NJIT libero Adriana Nieto collected a match-best 21 digs followed by Benson and Wiezik, who recorded 14 each.

In front of the net, the Highlanders held a 13-to-9 team block advantage, paced by Harris with 10 total blocks (one solo, nine assists) followed by Rodrigues with five assists.  The nine block assists in a five-set match by Harris is a new NJIT Division I record while the 10 total blocks ranks second in five sets (record held by Agnieszka Pregowska - 12 total blocks vs. Sacred Heart - 10.27.07).

Fordham was led by Olivia Fairchild's match-best 21 kills and 15 digs while Molly Oshinski added a double-double of her own with 10 kills and 12 digs.

Setter Maddy Walsh recorded a match-high 45 assists to go along with nine digs and two block assists for the Rams.

Defensively, the Rams were led by Morgan Williams' 19 digs followed by Grace Muller (16), Fairchild (15) and Oshinski (12).  Elise Benjamin and Natalie Martinez combined for nine block assists in front of the net.

The Highlanders fell behind early in the first set, 1-6 and later 9-14, as Fordham held a comfortable five-point lead.  NJIT rallied back to tie the set at 19, closing out the frame on an 8-5 run for a 25-23 victory.  Harris hit .750 with three kills on four swings while Klocek paced the Highlanders with four kills.

NJIT began the second set on fire, jumping out to a 10-4 advantage.  After a kill by the Rams, the visitors rallied off five consecutive points for a 15-5 lead and finished on 6-3 run, cruising to a 25-17 victory. 

In the third set, Fordham started off on a 5-1 run, resulting in a Highlander timeout.  The Highlanders went on a 6-2 run, knotting the set at 7-7.  Fordham scored the next three points but the Highlanders answered with a two points of their own, pulling within one, 9-10. 

NJIT used a 5-3 spurt to pull ahead of the Rams, 14-13 on a kill by Klocek.  The set saw five ties in the late teens, the final at 18, as the Rams registered back-to-back kills for a 20-18 lead, resulting in a timeout by the Highlanders. 

Out of the timeout, Fordham went on a short 3-1 run, taking a 23-19 lead, but the Highlanders fought back, with a kill by Tess Albyn and blocks by Harris and Klocek, slimming the lead to within two, 21-23.  NJIT closed the gap to one, 23-24, on a kill by Klocek, resulting in the Rams to take their final timeout of the set but an NJIT service error gave the Rams the 25-23 victory.

The fourth set saw eight ties, the final at 10-10 and the Rams broke open the close set on a 5-0 run for a 15-10 lead. NJIT scored two straight points but the Rams extended its lead to 19-14 and evened the match at 2-2, with a 25-19 victory, forcing a fifth and final set.

The game against Fordham, had some meaning for third-year head coach Peter Volkert.  Volkert guided Fordham from 2004 to 2012, leading the Rams to Atlantic 10 postseason berths in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010.  At 131-161, Volkert has 21 more career wins than any of the other 10 coaches in Fordham history and his .462 winning percentage ranks third.