Glassboro, NJ – The second-seeded Montclair State women's volleyball team dropped a heartbreaker to top-seeded Rowan University 3-2 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship Match Saturday.

The Red Hawks fell 25-23, 25-27, 19-25, 25-20, and 19-17.

Montclair State (20-11) will now wait until the NCAA Selection Show on Monday at 12:30 pm to see if they have claimed an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Profs (27-5) clinched the NJAC automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament with their victory.

The Red Hawks raced out to an early 7-1 advantage in set one, forcing Rowan into their first timeout. During the opening stretch, the team received service aces from rookie KATIE RODMAN and senior LEAH HIGGINS. Montclair State continued to play well as the lead swelled to 12-4 after a Profs service error. Rowan did not go away and reeled off four straight markers to close within five at 14-9.

Kills by Isabel Kircher and Courtney Rhoden forced Montclair into a timeout, but senior VICTORIA TENNON and sophomore SKYLAR KOWALSKI teamed up for a double-block to stop the run. Freshman KIARA POLANCO pounded home a set from St. Pierre to push the lead to 23-19, yet Rowan came all the back and scored the final six points to take a 1-0 advantage in the match.

Rowan rode the momentum and scored eight of the first 12 points of the second stanza to build an 8-4 lead as Montclair took a timeout. The Red Hawks took advantage of a pair of unforced errors and a kill from Higgins to cut the gap to just two at 13-11. Montclair State forced ties at 15, 18, 19, and 20 before finally taking the lead at 21-20 off a rejection from junior GIANNA ARIAS and Polanco.

Leading 24-21 after a kill from Polanco, the Profs fended off three set points to force a tie at 25. Higgins hammered home a St. Pierre assist in bringing up set point before Kowalski tipped one over the block to level the match one.

In set three, the Red Hawks used kills from Arias and Polanco coupled with a pair of Prof unforced errors to build an 8-3 lead. Rowan got within three, but six of the following nine points went in Montclair's favor as they opened up a 14-8 edge. The Red Hawks opened up a double-digit lead after St. Pierre and Kowalski stuffed Ogden at the net, and the duo again teamed up for a block to make it 21-9.
 

The Profs tallied the following six markers before St. Pierre rifled home a kill from her setter spot. Montclair led 24-16 after an Arias kill, but once again, the Profs fought back. They scored three consecutive points before a Polanco overpass landed just over the net for a kill and the Red Hawks took their first lead of the match at 2-1.

The fourth frame went back-and-forth, with neither leading by more than two early on. Kills by Arias and Higgins brought the lead to 11-7, and Rowan used one of their two timeouts to try and settle in. The break paid off for the hosts as they pulled even after an Ogden kill and took the lead after Brooke Adams killed an overpass. Like the second set, the fourth was knotted up at 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 before Rowan used two unforced errors to inch ahead 20-18. The Profs finished the set off with five of the last six points to knot everything at two, heading into the fifth and deciding stanza.

Rowan took a 4-1 lead in the fifth frame, causing Montclair to take a timeout after Kirchner and Rhoden notched a double-block. Higgins stopped the rally with a big kill and took their first lead of the period on a tandem block by Higgins and Kowalski. After a Polanco kill pushed MSU up 12-10, Higgins and Arias teamed up on a rejection making the score 13-11.

Rowan got a kill from Ogden to stop the run, and an attack error trimmed the lead to one, and Montclair called a timeout to regroup. An Arias kill brought up match-point, but Rowan fought off them before Higgins notched a kill to put MSU up 15-14. Rowan answered with a rejection of a Higgins attack, and once again, Montclair had match-point after a service error. An Ogden kill flipped the script, and a Red Hawk attack error ended the match in favor of Rowan.

Polanco (13 kills and 19 digs), Higgins (13 kills and 15 digs), and St. Pierre (41 assists and 14 digs) all notched double-doubles, while Kowalski recorded 15 kills. Libero KATELYN MONAGHAN recorded 17 digs in the setback. Ogden finished with 22 kills while Adams handed out 42 assists.