Montclair, NJ – Junior outside hitter Aysia Peterson (Scotch Plains, NJ / SP-Fanwood) and senior middle hitter Kaitlyn Hansen (Edison, NJ / Edison) had 15 kills apiece as Kean University snapped Montclair State's four-match winning streak with a four-set victory in the New Jersey Athletic Conference opener for both teams on Thursday.
Junior setter Alana Aranjo (Newark, NJ / Science Park) had 55 assists and 13 digs as the Cougars (9-1, 1-0 NJAC) won for the ninth time in its 10 matches this season while improving to 24-11 all-time against the Red Hawks, including the last four meetings.
Freshman
Courtney Matlock (Jackson, NJ, Jackson Memorial) had 13 kills to lead Montclair State, which fell to 4-5 on the season (0-1 NJAC). Freshmen
Melissa Terpstra (Midland Park, NJ, Midland Park) had eight kills and six aces while classmate
Rebecca Matasker (Washington Township, NJ, Westwood) and sophomore
Dana McNish (Hawthorne, NJ, Hawthorne) each posted eight kills.
Hansen and Peterson had four kills apiece in the opening set as Kean seized control of the first set 9-3 on an ace by Hansen. MSU would get within 10-8 however the Cougars ran off seven of the next eight points for a 17-9 advantage. The Red Hawks closed the gap to 19-14 on an ace by
Nicole Izzo (Flemington, NJ, Hunterdon Central) however Hansen collected a kill and then served the next four points for a 24-14 lead. Matasker kept the set going with a kill however Rachel Wells (Averill Park, NY / Averill Park) closed out the set with the kill for a 25-15 victory and a 1-0 lead in the match.
The second set would be closer and was tied seven times with the lead changing hands three times. Tied at 18-18, Kean scored four straight, two coming on kills by Jen Espinal (Elizabeth, NJ / Elizabeth) for a 22-18 lead. Montclair responded with the next five points to regain the lead at 23-22. Espinal tied the match with a kill but Terpstra answered with one of her own giving MSU a 24-23 advantage. Matasker and Matlock combined on a block of Hansen for the final point as Montclair squared the match with a 25-23 victory.
The third set saw MSU raced out to a 7-1 lead as Matlock recorded three consecutive kills. But Kean answered back with eight in a row taking a 9-7 lead on Peterson's kill. From that point the back and forth continued until Terpstra served up a pair of aces during a five-point spurt giving Montclair an 19-14 lead. Â But Kean swung the momentum back in its favor and took a 24-23 lead on an attack error. Matasker retied the set at 24-24 but consecutive errors by the Red Hawks allowed Kean to escpae with a 26-24 win and a 2-1 lead in the match.
The fourth set mirrored the third as Montclair State led 8-2. Kean battled back tying the match at 9-9 on a kill by Hansen. Again the set would go back in forth with seven ties. Matakser, who also added eight total blocks, gave MSU a 19-17 lead before Kean rallied for a 21-20 advantage on a kill from Hansen. Matasker tied the match at 21-21 and teams would trade the next six points with Montclair holding off a match point on kill by Matclock for a 24-24 tie. MSU then committed a service error and the Cougars capitalized on the opportunity as Espinal delivered the final kill for the 26-24 win.
Espinal finished with 10 kills and a team-best 16 digs while Peterson and Aranjo finished with 14 and 13 digs, respectively. Alix Denison (Fort Collins, CO / Rocky Mountain) added three kills, four aces and 12 digs.
Angela Campo (Washington Township, NJ, Westwood) had 36 assists and five digs for MSU with seniors
Kimberly Butrico (Cresskill, NJ, Cresskill) and
Kaitlyn Irwin (Cranford, NJ, Cranford) posting 14 and 13 digs, respectively.
Both teams return to action on Tuesday, September 24 with NJAC contests. Montclair State is at New Jersey City University while Kean is home to face William Paterson with both matches beginning at 7:00 pm.
