Montclair, NJ - Freshman outside hitter Hayley Merrill (West Windsor, NJ, West Windsor-Plainsboro South) collected a match-high nine kills while sophomores Leah Stine (Bridgewater, NJ, Bridgewater-Raritan) and Courtney Matlock (Jackson, NJ, Jackson Memorial) each added eight as Montclair State picked up its first New Jersey Athletic Conference victory with a straight-set triumph over Rowan University at the Panzer Athletic Center on Tuesday evening.

The Red Hawks won the match by set scores of 25-19, 25-21, 25-19.

Freshman middle blocker Madison Maute (Sparta, NJ, Sparta) added seven kills along with five blocks as the Red Hawks (12-3, 1-1 NJAC) won for the eighth time in their last nine matches while also snapping a five-match losing streak against the Profs (6-7, 1-1 NJAC). Montclair last defeated Rowan in Glassboro in 2009 and posted its first home victory over the Profs since 2008 when it registered a 3-0 win at the MSU Student Recreation Center.

Junior Kelsey Mazurek (Easton, PA / Easton Area) collected six kills for Rowan, which had its two-match winning streak snapped.

Matlock, Merrill and Rebecca Matasker (Washington Township, NJ, Westwood) each had three kills in the opening set as Montclair took control with a 13-5 run for a 20-10 lead. Matasker and Matlock had two kills apiece during the spurt while Montclair took advantage of six hitting errors by the Profs. Rowan would battle back answering with seven of the next eight points, including two kills by Morgan Mende (Glen Rock, NJ / Glen Rock) to pull within 21-17. But Merrill put a stop to the Rowan rally with kill and Samantha Szura (Hewitt, NJ, Ramapo) followed with an ace for a 24-17 lead. The Profs scored the next two points before Matasker's kill down the line ended the set with Montclair taking the 1-0 lead with the 25-19 victory.

The second set would be tight throughout with nine ties and four lead changes, the last coming at 18-18. Matlock put the Red Hawks in front with a kill and a ball-handling error by the Profs along with kill from setter Angela Campo (Washington Township, NJ, Westwood) gave MSU some breathing room at 21-18. An attack error by Montclair cut the lead the two but Maute's kill pushed the lead back to three and an ace by Matlock got Montclair within a point of a two-set lead. Mazurek held that off with her second kill of the set but Melissa Terpstra (Midland Park, NJ, Midland Park) answered with a kill off a set from libero Lily Scanzillo (Upper Saddle River, NJ, Northern Highlands) as Montclair State took Set No. 2, 25-21.

The third set was knotted at 7-7 when the Red Hawks scored four straight points. Scanzillo had an ace and Maute a kill before a pair of attack errors made the score 11-7. MSU would maintain its advantage over the next several points and grabbed a 20-15 lead on a kill by Campo who then served up an ace to make the score 22-16. After an error by Montclair State, Matlock and Stine got back-to-back kills for a 24-17 lead before Matlock closed ou the match with her second service ace of the match. 

Campo finished with 36 assists for Montclair State, which posted a .289 hitting efficiency for the match. Matasker had six kills while Terpstra had a match-best eight digs. Scanzillo added six digs with Campo netting five.

Mende totaled five kills for Rowan which got 10 assists from Rebecca Dantonio (Glen Mills, PA / Garnet Valley). Jenifer Vorel (Madison, NJ ./ Madison) and Erica O'Hagan (Cedar Grove, NJ / Cedar Grove) had five digs apiece for the Profs.

The Red Hawks are back in action on Friday, September 26 when it travels to Williamsport, PA for the Lycoming Tip-Off Tournament. MSU will face host Lycoming and Penn Tech on Friday before taking on St. Mary's (MD) and Misericordia on Saturday, September 27.