Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State University volleyball team closed out the regular season with straight-set victories over Misericordia and Moravian on Saturday afternoon at the Panzer Athletic Center.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Red Hawks (21-7) opened their contest against Misericordia with five consecutive points, including three consecutive service aces from EMMA HATCHER. After the Cougars cut the margin to three, Montclair answered with five of the next seven markers, including back-to-back aces from CAMRYN MUUSS. With the score 16-7, Misericordia rattled off five in a row to come within four, and later closed the gap to 20-18. BRYN BAUTISTA notched two kills and a service ace down the stretch as the home side recorded five of the final six points to clinch the opening frame.
• After Montclair raced out to a 6-1 lead in the second stanza, the visitors answered with four of their own to come within one. Three-straight errors built the lead back up to four for the Red Hawks, who later fell behind after a 10-4 Misericordia run. LILY THOMAS ended the run with a kill, and Hatcher tallied two more aces during a 9-2 run to balloon the lead up to 23-17 for Montclair. The Cougars tallied a kill to halt the surge, but SOFIA DIPROFIO and EMILY CARCICH ended the set to put the Red Hawks up two.
• Misericordia recorded four of the first five to begin the third frame and maintained a four-point advantage up to 11-7. Thomas and Bautista notched back-to-back kills, and after the Cougars answered with two of their own, the Red Hawks rattled off four-straight, capped off by a kill from DiProfio. Level at 19 late, the Red Hawks put together five markers in a row on four errors and a Bautista kill. The visitors climbed back to within two, but Bautista finished off the match with a kill.
• Montclair and Moravian traded points in the early stages of the second match, with the two sides knotted at five after the opening 10 points. The Red Hawks embarked on a run of eight-straight markers, including three kills from Thomas and two from Bautista. The Greyhounds cut into the deficit with seven of the next eight and brought the score to 15-13 in favor of the Red Hawks. The home side used another big run to balloon the advantage to double-digits, as Muuss tallied two kills to lead the way. Moravian answered with four of the next five, but Muuss clinched the opening frame with a kill.
• Moravian built a four-point lead early in the second set, but three attack errors over the next four points brought the Red Hawks within two. The Greyhounds tallied three in a row before Montclair rallied with four-straight, capped by a service ace from Carcich. Following a kill from Moravian, the Red Hawks used four-straight again to reclaim the lead. Muuss notched two kills later on in the stanza, but the Greyhounds kept within two points at 20-18. RACHEL CURRAN tallied a kill and an ace to move back up to six, and SOPHIA LOPEZ later capped off the stanza with a kill.
• Level at three in the third, Lopez kicked off a run of five-straight Montclair points with a kill, and the Red Hawks later built a 16-8 advantage halfway through the set. Moravian notched four of the next six to get within six, but EMILY FERRI tallied consecutive kills to stop the run. The Greyhounds used a 7-2 rally to climb back into the stanza, coming within one at 23-22. Lopez tallied a crucial kill to push the lead back to two, and after Moravian capitalized on a service error, Lopez ended the afternoon with another kill.

INSIDE THE RESULTS

• Montclair finished the regular season with 21 victories, its most going into the postseason since the 2016 season.
• The Red Hawks recorded 12 home wins during the 2024 regular season, the most since 2016.
• Bautista led the way with 12 kills to go along with six digs in the opener against Misericordia. Muuss added eight kills, and Carcich led the way defensively with 13 digs.
• Muuss tallied a team-high 12 kills against Moravian, and KATIE RODMAN amassed a team-high 17 digs on the defensive side.

FROM THE COURT

"Great way to end the 2024 regular season today! I'm very proud of this group and the hard work they've put in all season long. We had a chance to bounce back against two good teams after a tough loss last night. We came in with a different mindset and addressed the areas we struggled with last night. We are looking forward to the NJAC playoffs on Thursday at home in Panzer." - Head Coach Eduardo Stawinski

UP NEXT

The Red Hawks will host a Semifinal of the 2024 New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament on Thursday, November 14, against either Stockton or NJCU. First serve from the Panzer Athletic Center is scheduled for 7:00 PM.