NEWARK, NJ  - The NJIT women's volleyball team flew west on Thursday as are set to play three matches this weekend at Northern Illinois to open the 2022 campaign, which marks Head Coach Pedro Trevino's fourth season.

Weekend Schedule
Friday, 12pm (CT) at Northern Illinois -
Friday, 4pm (CT) vs. Illinois-Chicago 
Saturday, 12pm (CT) vs. South Dakota State

New Foes
NJIT has never played any of this weekend's opponents in women's volleyball. 

Video Previews
Head Coach Pedro Trevino
Senior Emma Godwin

Follow the Action
The season opener at Northern Illinois will have both live stats and a video stream, while the matches against Illinois-Chicago and South Dakota State will only have live stats.  All nine NJIT home matches this season will be streamed with seven on America East TV and the matches against Binghamton (Oct. 9) and Bryant (Nov. 6) on ESPN+ or ESPN3. 

Fearless Leaders
Prior to the season, Trevino announced that seniors Katelyn Bliesner and Juliana Impaglia will serve as team captains. Both are four-year members of the program. 

New Faces
Trevino welcomed four new student-athletes to the program this season in freshmen Maddie Dennis, Doga Emil, and Taylor West, as well as sophomore transfer Kylie Flynn. Additionally, Trevino hired Jackie Ahlers to serve as his assistant coach. Ahlers, a former All-American at St. John's and America East Player of the Year at Stony Brook, previously coached at NJIT in 2017.

Top Returners
In addition to the four newcomers, Trevino brings back 12 members of the 2021 squad, including five seniors, two juniors, and five sophomores. Top returners include Ines Varela, who was named to the All-Rookie Team in 2021, Adriana Goetz-Morales, the team's top offensive threat last season (200 kills, 2.35 k/s), and Courtney Branch, who tallied 91.0 blocks to lead the Highlanders in 2021. 

Homecoming
This weekend's matches at Northern Illinois will serve as a homecoming for several Highlanders. Cami Augustine, Courtney Branch, and Emma Godwin all hail from Illinois, while Trevino and Katelyn Bliesner were raised close by in Wisconsin. 

Up Next
The Highlanders welcome Saint Peter's to Newark on Tuesday for their home opener. First serve is slated for 6pm in the Wellness and Events Center and the match will be streamed via America East TV.