Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State volleyball team had three players post double figures in kills as the Red Hawks knocked off local rival William Paterson in four sets at the Panzer Athletic Center on Thursday evening.

Freshmen CARLY WATERMAN and CAITLIN LANGE and senior NATALIA MAJKUT had 14, 13 and 10 kills respectively as the Red Hawks (13-6, 4-3 NJAC) captured the first two sets 25-15 and 25-17. After William Paterson (16-3, 3-3 NJAC) won the third 25-10, MSU closed out the match with a 25-14 victory.

Montclair raced out to a 9-0 lead in the first set as Lange had three kills and Majkut two. Waterman helped extend the lead to 14-5 before the Pioneers made a run to get within 15-9. Montclair led 18-12 before going on four-point run capped by a kill from setter ASHLEY GRIFFITH making the score 22-12. WPU got three of the next four points however Waterman and Higgins answered with kills as Montclair took the opening set 25-15.

The second set saw the Pioneers take a 5-1 lead before the Red Hawks battled back to take a 9-7 advantage on a kill by Waterman. MSU maintained the slim lead until a three-point burst put the Red Hawks up 19-15 on a kill by Lange. William Paterson got within 20-17 but that would be as close as it would get as Montclair State ripped off the final five points to take the 2-0 lead. Majkut, Waterman and Lange each had kills with Lange putting down the final pint in the 25-17 win.

In the third, the Red Hawks led 5-4 until the Pioneers went on an incredible 18-point run to take a 22-5 lead. MSU made a modest run to get the lead down to 24-10 but Alyson Toman finished off a feed from Kendall Caruso as William Paterson got back into the match with a 25-10 victory.

VICTORIA TENNON and Waterman combined on a block during a four-point run early in the fourth for a 6-3 lead. Tennon would play a big role in a 7-0 run with a block and two kills as Montclair widened its lead to 15-6. Griffith served up an ace making the score 20-8 and a kill by Majkut later made the score 23-11. An error got MSU to match point and after three in row by the Pioneers, another miscue on a serve ended the match.

Tennon finished with nine kills and a pair of blocks while LEAH HIGGINS totals five and four digs. Lange had three blocks for MSU. Griffith totaled 46 assists while libero ALEXANDRA CAMPOS led all players with 24 digs. Waterman posted 10 digs to complete a double-double performance.

The Red Hawks are back in action on Tuesday, October 16 when it hosts Rutgers-Newark in its final NJAC contest at 7pm.