NEWARK, NJ - The NJIT women's volleyball team was defeated in ASUN Conference action by visiting North Alabama on Sunday in the Wellness and Events Center.

The Lions took the close match in four sets (26-28. 25-22, 25-21, 25-21) to improve to 3-12 on the season and 1-1 in ASUN play, while NJIT is now 1-16 overall and 0-2 in conference play. 

UNA led 24-20 in the first set, but NJIT rallied with four-straight points to keep the set alive and eventually won the frame 28-26 on a block from freshmen Courtney Branch and Sarah Merritt. 

The Lions answered, however, winning the next three sets to take the match.

Three freshmen stood out for the Highlanders on Sunday, led by Susan Blake who recorded a carrer-best 17 kills. Classmates Adriana Goetz-Morales and Merritt also collected double-digit kills totaling 12 and 11, respectively. Senior Madi Busler was the fourth NJIT player with 10+ kills, tallying 10 of her own. Blake's 17 kills came against just four errors in 24 attacks for an impressive .542 hitting percentage. 

Branch was impressive defensively at the net, blocking six shots, including one solo block. The rookie also finished with eight kills and one error in 17 attacks, hitting .412 on the afternoon. 

As a team, the Highlanders hit .204, their third-best percentage through 17 games this season.

NJIT will be back in action on Friday when it travels to Florida to take on Jacksonville at 7pm.