Montclair, NJ – Sophomore SCHYLER WHITE registered a match-high 15 kills while junior APRIL DIANGELO added 12 as fourth-seeded Montclair State knocked off fifth-seeded Rowan, 3-1 in the first round of the NJAC Volleyball Championship at the Panzer Athletic Center on Tuesday evening.

Montclair took the first two set 25-11 and 25-14 before Rowan stayed alive with a 25-23 win in the third. MSU closed out the match with a 25-22 victory in the fourth.

Junior NATALIA MAJKUT had nine kills and six blocks as the defending champion Red Hawks (14-19) now advance to the semifinals on Thursday, November 2 where it will face top-seeded Kean University at 7:00 pm.  MSU fell to the Cougars in five sets earlier this season.

Sophomore Megan Jacobi had 10 kills and Gina Kisley nine for Rowan, which ended its season at 12-20 with their second loss to Montclair State this season. The Profs dropped a five-set match with MSU in Glassboro, NJ back on October 3.

Montclair, which improved to 3-1 against Rowan in the NJAC Tournament, fell behind after the first two points, but stormed back scoring 17 of the next 22 to build a commanding lead. DiAngelo caught fire with eight kills as Montclair hit .400 for the set. Freshman ALEXANDRA CAMPOS served 11 consecutive points in a 12-0 run that saw DiAngelo record seven kills, including five of the last six points in the spurt for a 17-6 lead.

DiAngelo later served three points in a row widening the lead to 21-7. Junior ASHLEY GRIFFITH set up Lange for a kill making the score 24-11 and then notched one of her own on set points as MSU grabbed a 1-0 lead in the match.

In the second set, three straight points on the service of LILY SCANZILLO gave the Red Hawks a 6-3 lead early and it would get to 14-7 on one of the eight blocks by Lange, who later added a kill making the score 20-11. White posted back-to-back kills for set point 24-14 with freshman MEGAN O'ROURKE serving an ace as Montclair led 2-0 in the match with its 25-14 victory.

The third set would be a tightly contested battle back and forth and with six ties and three lead changes. Jacobi, who had six kills in the set knotted the score at 22-22. Majkut put Montclair back in front however Kisley forged the final tie with her fourth kill of the set. The two then combined on a block to put Rowan one point away and the Profs closed out the set on the next serve as Jacobi finished off a set by Tori Mock for the 25-23 victory.

The fourth set proved to be even closer with seven lead changes and eight ties, the last coming at 18-18 on a kill by White. Following a Rowan timeout, O'Rouke served five straight points putting Montclair State up 23-18. Taylor Modica stopped the run but White countered leaving Montclair one point from victory. The Profs did not go quietly with three straight points, the last by Kailey Gallagher cutting the lead to 24-22. But White quelled any further comeback with her final kill as the Red Hawks closed out the match with the 25-22 triumph.

CAITLIN LANGE finished with eight kills and eight blocks for MSU, which had nine in the match. Griffith totaled 46 assists along with 10 digs and three aces. DiAngelo made it a double-double performance with 11 digs while Campos chipped in with 12. Scanzillo led all players with 18 digs.

Modica had seven kills and 12 digs for Rowan, which got eight kills from Gallagher and seven blocks by Jamie Shirtz. Katelyn Paxson totaled 22 assists and Mock 18. Erin Keegan recorded 15 digs.