Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 SYRACUSE, NY – The NJIT women's volleyball team earned its first win of the 2024 season on Saturday afternoon, defeating Le Moyne in straight sets to cap off the Salt City Classic. The Highlanders split their two matches on the day, dropping their earlier match against Lafayette in five sets.

Lafayette 3, NJIT 1 (25-23, 9-25, 19-25, 25-22, 15-8)
After falling in set one, NJIT put on a dominant performance in the second frame to even things up. Lafayette kept things close early on, but a 7-0 run midway through the set for the Highlanders put them ahead, 15-4. NJIT maintained the healthy lead, not allowing the Leopards back within 12 points as it closed out the set two win.

The Highlanders played the third set from behind, trailing 8-3 at one point early on in the stanza. Kills from Ema Torres and Ines Varela pulled NJIT back within a pair, and a 6-0 run sparked by kills from Finley McAndrew, Aries Fontaine and Varela put the Highlanders back in front, 12-10. Lafayette kept things close throughout the remainder of set three, but NJIT was able to keep the opposition at bay to pull out a set three win.

Lafayette was able to respond by winning a close fourth set, piecing together scoring runs late in the frame to force a deciding fifth frame. In the fifth, the Leopards came out of the gates strong, growing a lead and never looking back en route to the victory.

In just her third collegiate match, Torres led NJIT with 13 kills with a hitting percentage of .345. Sara Siefert collected 12 kills for the match to go with seven digs and four service aces.

NJIT 3, Le Moyne 0 (25-10, 26-24, 26-24)
NJIT cruised to a set one victory, charging out to an early 11-4 advantage. The two sides traded points in the middle of the opening set, but the Highlanders used an 8-0 run featuring two kills from Fontaine to push ahead, 22-8. After back-to-back points from the Dolphins, an ace from Doga Emil sandwiched between kills from Torres and Varela gave the Highlanders the set one win.

Sets two and three each came down to the wire, with NJIT showing the wherewithal in each to pull out the victory. Neither team could assert itself through the first half of the set, but a short 4-0 burst from Le Moyne aided it to a 16-13 advantage. Back-to-back NJIT points were answered by the Dolphins to go back up by three. The Highlanders would then claim seven of the next nine points, three of which came off Siefert kills, to take a 22-20 lead. After a Torres kill later on gave NJIT a 24-21 edge, the Dolphins rattled off three straight points to level things up. Torres would step back up, registering back-to-back kills to end the set.

Set three once again saw the Highlanders stave off a Le Moyne late rally. Midway through the frame, the NJIT lead increased to five, 15-10, after another Torres kill. The Dolphins began to chip away at the deficit, eventually drawing event, 22-22, thanks to scoring four straight points. The Highlanders picked up the next two scores to hold double match point, but back-to-back Le Moyne kills leveled the set up at 24-24. Much like set two, a pair of clutch late kills sealed the deal for NJIT. Varela collected her seventh kill of the night to put the Highlanders up one, followed by Siefert's team-high 10^th kill of the match to seal the victory.

Torres picked up nine kills and hit .444 for the match, while Siefert's 10 kills came along with a .350 hitting percentage and eight digs. McAndrew and Cece Marino each surpassed double digits in assists, tallying 18 and 10 for the match, respectively.

Up Next
The Highlanders head back to Newark for their home opener on Tuesday night as they welcome Saint Peter's to the Joel & Diane Bloom Wellness and Events Center at 6 p.m. It's PJ's and Pancakes Night, so be sure to head to the WEC and get some free pancakes while supplies last!