Lancaster, Pa. – The Montclair State volleyball team started their quad-match weekend at Franklin & Marshall with a face off against Clarkson and they downed the Golden Knights, 3-1 on Friday night. MSU volleyball is off to their second-best start to the season at 6-1, only second to the 1998 team that went 7-0 during the same span of matches.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Red Hawks took a commanding 7-1 in the first set led by SARAH CAPONE, who tallied four kills during that early run. Clarkson fought back to within one point at scores of 11-10 and 12-11, but kills from ZOEY HORN and RACHEL CURRAN respectively kept the lead at a distance for MSU. Montclair never let up a lead of less than two the rest of the way and it was Capone who knocked down the final kill to give the Red Hawks the set-one victory.
• Set two saw both sides trade blows often and they each played to ties of 6-6 and 9-9 during the early set. During that time, the Red Hawks saw three kills from Capone, two from Curran and one from Horn. Clarkson took their first lead of the match at a score of 11-10, but a kill from KATIE RODMAN and an attack error swung momentum back to Montclair. The Red Hawks never surrendered the lead the rest of the way and took set two, 25-23. During the stretch run, Capone notched four kills, Curran collected two and Horn and KASEY TRZASKA each tallied a kill.
• MSU jumped out to a 4-1 lead early that included two kills Curran and one from LILY THOMAS, but Clarkson answered back with five unanswered points to take a 6-4 edge. The Red Hawks climbed to within one point at a 7-6 score before another five straight points from the Golden Knights set them up with a comfortable 13-6 lead. Montclair State was never able to generate a large enough run to fight back and eventually Clarkson forced a set four with a 25-17 win in set three
• Capone and BRYN BAUTISTA started off set four with kills before four answered from the Golden Knights gave them a 4-2 advantage. Clarkson worked their way to a 9-6 lead before a 5-1 run that included two kills from Curran and two service aces from Horn, flipped the score 11-10 in favor of Montclair. Both teams battled hard to an 18-17 MSU lead before the Golden Knights scored six unanswered to hold a 23-18 advantage. The Red Hawks did not falter despite the oppositions run and was able to score six straight points of their own, sparked by three kills from Curran and two from Campone for a 23-22 lead. Two kills in a row from Clarkson and one from Campone, sent the set into extra points with a 25-25 tie. It wasn't until a 27-27 draw when a kill from Horn gave them the advantage for Bautista to knock it down and seal the match for Montclair State.

INSIDE THE RESULTS

• Capone (22), Curran (18) and Horn (10) each posted a double-digit kill game for MSU. Capone's was a career-best, was a team-high mark on the season and currently ranks third in the NJAC in highest kills during a single match.
• KATIE RODMAN posted a season-high 21 digs and continued her streak of having double-digit digs in each match this season.
• EMILY CARCICH also notched a career-best milestone with 53 assists during the match which is the current best mark in the NJAC this season.
• The Red Hawk's 72 team kills were the most of any team in the conference in a single match this season

 
From the Court

• "Great way to kick start a strong tournament this weekend. Clarkson is a great team and that was a fun match all around. I'm very proud of our team sticking together and playing very hard throughout. We received multiple contributions from many people tonight that helped us get the win. Sarah had a great night tonight from the right side and helped spread our offense. Zoey and Rachel had effective offensive nights as well and we did a great job serving tough and playing defense. Great team win tonight!" Head Coach Eduardo Stawinski

UP NEXT

Montclair State will see a quick turnaround as they play Virginia Wesleyan tomorrow at 12:00pm followed by a match up with host Franklin & Marshall at 2:30pm.