NEWARK, NJ – The NJIT women's volleyball team earned its first win of the 2026 season in thrilling fashion Wednesday evening, defeating Manhattan, 3-2, in the Highlanders' home opener at the Joel & Diane Bloom Wellness & Events Center.
Set Scores
Set 1: NJIT - 25 | Manhattan - 15
Set 2: Manhattan - 26 | NJIT - 24
Set 3: NJIT - 25 | Manhattan - 23
Set 4: Manhattan - 25 | NJIT - 19
Set 5: NJIT - 15 | Manhattan - 12
The victory marked NJIT's first win of the season and its first home-opening victory since the 2023 season, when the Highlanders also defeated Manhattan.
NJIT opened the match with a strong performance in the first set, earning a 25-15 victory to take an early 1-0 advantage.
Manhattan responded in the second set, edging the Highlanders, 26-24, to even the match at 1-1.
The Highlanders regained the lead in the third set, holding off the Jaspers for a 25-23 victory and moving one set away from securing the match.
Manhattan once again answered in the fourth, posting a 25-19 win to force a decisive fifth set.
In the fifth set, NJIT came through when it mattered most, securing a 15-12 victory to close out the five-set match and improve to 1-3 on the season.
Junior Ema Torres led the Highlanders with a team-high 22 kills and junior Aries Fontaine added 13 kills. Freshman Leah Devaraj recorded eight kills and a team-best seven service aces.
The junior duo of Finley McAndrew and Cece Marino recorded 21 assists and 20 assists respectively, while Marino also had a team-high 11 digs.
Up Next
The Highlanders hit the road to take on Delaware State on Friday, the 4th with first serve scheduled for 7:00 p.m. for game one of the DSU Invitational.
Follow the Highlanders
Keep up with the NJIT women's volleyball team all season long by following on X/Twitter and Instagram (@NJITWVB).
