Box Score
BROOKYLN- The NJIT women's volleyball team opened up their 2019 season at the Terrier Classic in Brooklyn on Friday, falling to host St. Francis College in four sets (28-26, 25-23, 23-25, 25-18).

The first set proved to foreshadow much of the match as NJIT went down early, but rallied to tie the frame 7-7, and later trailed by as many as nine, 19-10, before coming back to take a lead, only to drop the set 28-26.

"We didn't give up today," said first-year head coach Pedro Trevino, who played seven freshmen in the season opener. "We just couldn't close, but we learned a lot today, and hopefully it will make us better."

The second set also included a comeback that ultimately fell short, as NJIT trailed 23-20, but scored three-straight points to tie it, 23-23. The Terriers bounced back, however, and scored the last two points to win the set and take a 2-0 advantage in the match.

The Highlanders went ahead 9-5 in the third set and maintained at least a two-point lead throughout until the hosts cut the deficit to one, 24-23. A kill from senior Liz Benson made the score 25-23 and gave NJIT its first set victory of the season, cutting the match score to 2-1.

In the fourth set, St. Francis broke a 2-2 tie and never trailed again en route to the seven-point set clinching victory.
 
Freshman Sarah Merritt led the Highlanders with 11 kills in her debut, while senior Madi Busler chipped in with 10 and Courtney Branch, another freshman, tallied eight. Benson dished out a match-best 33 assists, to go along with four kills on just seven attempts. Freshman Katelyn Bliesner's four blocks led the squad on Friday, while seniors Alahna Diaz and Olivia Welsch each collected a team-high 12 digs.

Although the Terriers took the match in four sets, the team stats were extremely close as each team collected 45 kills and 12 service errors. St. Francis held slim advantages in digs (51-49), assists (41-40) and service aces (5-4) but one area the hosts dominated was at the net, as they tallied 12 blocks, to NJIT's four.

OTHER NOTES: In addition to Trevino, Merritt, Branch, and Bliesner; Emma Godwin, Adriana Goetz-Morales, Juliana Impaglia, and CJ Trevino also made their debuts as a Highlander.

UP NEXT: The Highlanders conclude play at the Terrier Classic tomorrow with a pair of matches.NJIT will take on Maryland-Eastern Shore at 11:30am, before playing Central Michigan at 4:30pm.