NEWARK, NJ – The NJIT women's volleyball heads back on the road this weekend to take part in the Delaware State Tournament. The Highlanders kick off the weekend against George Washington on Friday at 4 p.m., followed by a showdown with Harvard on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. The tournament wraps up with NJIT facing the host Hornets on Saturday night at 7 p.m.

Last Time Out
The Highlanders hosted Penn on Tuesday night in their second home match of the season, falling in four sets. Freshman Cece Marino posted her first career double-double, while Ilayda Dincer finished the night with eight kills and nine digs. This came on the heels of NJIT going 2-1 at the Siena Invitational last weekend, beating both Idaho and Siena in straight sets.

News & Notes

• Doga Emil was named the America East Defensive Specialist of the Week last week after averaging a league-best 6.1 digs per set. Emil surpassed 20 digs in a pair of three set matches over the Highlanders' 2-2 week.
• Ema Torres was named America East Rookie of the Week. The Gondomar, Portugal native averaged 2.9 kills per set, 1.2 digs per set and hit .333 across the week.
• Sara Siefert collected her third career double-double on Sep. 3 against Saint Peter's, finishing with a career-high 12 digs and finishing one off a career-best with 15 kills.
• The NJIT freshmen have had strong starts to the 2024 campaign. Of the top four on the team in kills, freshmen Ema Torres and Aries Fontaine rank first and third, respectively. In the assists department, Finley McAndrew and Cece Marino have been the driving forces, ranking in the top two in that category on the team.
• NJIT has two of the top-six in the America East in service aces per set: Sara Siefert (4^th, 0.41), and Cece Marino (6^th, 0.39)
• The Highlanders have two of the top six in blocks per set in the America East so far this season. Ines Varela currently sits fifth (1.06) while Taylor West ranks sixth (0.90).
• Doga Emil enters the weekend ranked sixth in the conference in digs per set (3.64).

Who's Back?
Trevino welcomes back 11 student-athletes from last year's team which picked up nine wins on the season. The seniors feature team captains Varela and Walker, as well as Cami Augustine. Four juniors will take the floor for the Highlanders in 2024 in Mariana Cova, Maddie Dennis, Doga Emil and Taylor West. The sophomore returnees consist of Ashlynn Berns, Olivia Grall, Rowan Schreiber and Sara Siefert.

Who's New?
Six newcomers join NJIT's roster for the 2024 campaign, consisting of four freshmen, one sophomore and one graduate transfer. Aries Fontaine, Cece Marino, Finley McAndrew and Ema Torres make up the freshman class. Patricia Rakova joins the team as a sophomore, while Arkansas State tranfser Ilayda Dincer comes to Newark for her graduate year.

Follow the Highlanders
Keep up with the NJIT women's volleyball team all season long by following on X/Twitter and Instagram (@NJITWVB).