NEWARK, NJ – The NJIT women's volleyball team battled hard but ultimately fell in five sets in their home opener against Saint Peter's on Tuesday night at the Wellness and Events Center.

NJIT led early in set one, but Saint Peter's battled back midway through the frame to take the 1-0 lead in the match. Set two saw the Highlanders take charge early, eventually opening the lead up to six after an ace from Finley McAndrew. The Peacocks attempted to chip away at the deficit, but three separate 3-0 bursts by the Highlanders widened the lead en route to the set two victory.

Set three saw NJIT once again come out strong, building a 12-5 lead thanks to a five-point scoring run capped by a Mariana Cova kill. The Peacocks would regroup, however, storming back to take the lead and eventually win the set to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

In a back-and-forth fourth set, NJIT held set point with a 24-23 advantage, but Saint Peter's stood its ground. The Peacocks would end up earning a pair of match points of their own, but NJIT withstood both threats to keep the match alive. With the set tied up at 27-27, Sara Siefert collected back-to-back kills to send the match to a fifth set.
In the fifth, NJIT got out to a 10-6 lead with four of the points coming from Siefert kills. However, Saint Peter's would once again come from behind, scoring nine of the final 10 points of the set to take the match in five.

Siefert finished the night with a new career-high in digs with 12 and was one off her career-high in kills with 15. The double-double for Siefert was the third of her career. Ema Torres also notched a double-double with 13 kills and 12 digs. Freshmen setters Cece Marino and Finley McAndrew each had strong nights, posting 28 and 21 assists, respectively. Four different Highlanders recorded at least 11 digs, led by Cami Augustine with 13.

Up Next
The Highlanders will head up the road to South Orange this weekend to take part in the Seton Hall Classic, beginning on Friday with a matchup against Kent State at 12 p.m.