Post-Match Interview w/ Juliana Impaglia
NEWARK, NJ - Junior
Elley Torres established a new career-high of 17 kills as the NJIT women's volleyball team defeated visiting Iona in five sets at the Wellness and Events Center on Wednesday evening.
The Highlanders improved to 2-1 at home this season with the victory, their five-set win over Iona in as many years.
Iona took the first set 25-18, but the Highlanders bounced back with a 25-17 second-set win followed by a 25-18 third-set victory to go ahead 2-1 in the match.
"We made a bunch of errors in that first set and Coach (Pedro) Trevino called a late timeout to calm us down," explained senior captain
Juliana Impaglia. "We lost that set, but scored seven points in a row at the end and it really turned the momentum."
The Gaels extended the match with a 25-17 win in the fourth set, but the Highlanders took the match with a 15-12 fifth-set win, never trailing in the frame.
Torres' 17 kills came on an impressive .343 hitting percentage and she was joined in double figures by
Asher Vallone, who finished the match with 10.Â
Impaglia continued her tremendous senior season, finishing with a match-best 41 assists to go alone with a team-high 18 digs for a double-double. Vallone also recorded a double-double as she collected 11 digs to go along with her 10 kills.Â
Courtney Branch paced NJIT with five blocks as each team totaled 12 on Wednesday.
"Blocking sets everything up for us," added Impaglia. "It makes the defense so much easier."
The Highlanders will look to make it two in a row on Friday when they welcome Hartford to the WEC. First serve is slated for 6pm.
