Box score
NEWARK, NJ—NJIT women's volleyball extended its unbeaten season start to eight matches with an impressive 3-0 home win over a quality Sacred Heart team Wednesday afternoon in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.
The Highlanders, who came in having won 21 of 22 sets in building a 7-0 record to open the season, trailed the first set against Sacred Heart, 13-17 and later 17-20. But NJIT roared back and won eight of the remaining nine points for a 25-21 opening-set win. NJIT is 8-0, while Sacred Heart falls to 5-2.
The Highlanders then opened the second set 3-0 and never trailed en route to a 25-19 win in the middle frame before exploding for a 25-10 win in the closing set to secure the match against previously once-beaten Sacred Heart.
The Pioneers, who twice defeated NJIT by 3-0 scores in 2008, came into Newark having won their previous four 2009 contests by a combined 12-1 in sets.
NJIT had a diverse attack, led by Katrina Hornstein and Renata Pandolfo, each of whom notched nine kills, followed closely by Baaba Hughes, who had eight kills. Hughes had just one attack error and no Highlander had more than three.
Senior setter Erica Schultz finished with a match-high 28 assists and her three service aces also paced the Highlanders. Hughes and Pandolfo also checked in with a pair of aces each.
NJIT's was strong at the net, as the Highlanders enjoyed a team blocking advantage of 6-to-3. Freshman Fernanda Lima was the individual leader with five block assists, followed by Hornstein (3 block assists). Lima and Hornstein often blocked in tandem and even when they failed to get a block they got their hands on Sacred Heart attack tries all afternoon.
Senior captain Sabrina Baby had 17 digs to lead four Highlanders with double-figures in that category. Hughes added 12 digs, while Schultz and Hornstein picked up 10 apiece.
Sacred Heart got a match-best 18 digs from sophomore libero Jessica Colberg. Eleven of those digs came in a hard-fought first set that saw some extraordinarily long points, with both teams keeping the ball alive.
Maile Hetherington led the Pioneers with seven kills while Courtney Kidd-Kadlubek finished with 19 assists. Sacred Heart got four of its eight service aces from Ashlyn Trimble and Elise Sage was the blocks leader with two (one solo, one assisted).
NJIT faces a stern test this weekend in Washington, DC, at the American Volleyball Classic.
The Highlanders will face Virginia Tech, which won 20 matches in 2008, including 11 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, on Friday at 7 pm. Then they will face host American on Saturday at 1 pm. American has qualified for the NCAA Division I Tournament in each of the last eight seasons and has won at least 22 matches in each of the last 12 seasons.
