Union, NJ – The Montclair State volleyball team saw its 2017 season come to a close as the Red Hawks were knocked out of the NJAC Volleyball Championship by top-seeded Kean University at the Harwood Arena on Thursday evening.

Junior APRIL DIANGELO and sophomore SCHYLER WHITE had eight and seven kills respectively for fourth-seeded Montclair, which fell in straight sets 25-23, 25-13 and 25-20. The defending champion Red Hawks finished the year 14-20.

Meeting for the second time this season, the Red Hawk jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first set before the opener became a back-and-forth set with seven lead changes and 12 ties. The last of those came at 19-19 with MSU moving front when setter ASHLEY GRIFFITH dropped one over the net for a kill. Kean answered with three straight as Brett Harper recorded a kill and the teamed with Jesse Larkin on a block. Larkin combined with Vikki Stec on another block vaulting the Cougars to a 22-20 lead. MSU tied the set with the next two points however consecutive kills from Stec and Sara Ridgeway made the score 24-22. After MSU held off a set point, Ridgeway closed it out with the last of her seven kills giving Kean a 1-0 lead in the match.

The Cougars (27-10) hit .406 in the opening set and were even better in the second with a .483 hitting efficiency. Stec and Ridgeway posted six kills apiece as Kean used a 7-1 run, taking a 21-10 advantage. A kill by Harper brought the set to its penultimate point and an error by Montclair gave Kean a 25-13 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.

The teams traded spurts in the third with Kean taking a 15-10 lead only to see Montclair close to within 16-15 on a kill by DiAngelo. Stec answered with a kill and a block by Brianna Calvano and Ridgeway gave the Cougars some breathing room at 18-15. MSU made one last charge pulling within 21-20 however Kean scored the final four points, including two kills by Larkin and an ace by Sarah Sample on match point.

Griffith finished with 25 assists and four digs for Montclair, which got five kills each from NATALIA MAJKUT and CAITLIN LANGE. White added seven digs to her performance with senior libero LILY SCANZILLO totaling eight digs in her final match for Montclair State. Scanzillo finished with 1,489 digs, the fourth-best career total in MSU history.