Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State University volleyball team battled back to defeat Drew in four sets on Tuesday night at the Panzer Athletic Center.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Red Hawks (7-3) traded points with the Rangers early on, as neither side could gain more than two points of separation until Montclair rattled off three straight on kills from ZOEY HORN and CAMRYN MUUSS along with a service error. With the score 8-4 in favor of the home side, Drew closed the gap with a 10-3 run to take a three-point advantage. Later in the set, a kill from Horn made the score 21-19 in favor of the road side, who closed the set with four straight points.
• Montclair bounced back in the second stanza with the opening four points and built a 7-1 advantage, forcing a Drew timeout. Muuss led the Red Hawks with two kills during that stretch. The home side built its first double-digit lead of the night at 13-3 on three straight attack errors from the Rangers. Back-to-back kills from RACHEL CURRAN and EMMA HATCHER expanded the margin for the Red Hawks, who later closed the frame with five consecutive points.
• Drew jumped out to a 8-1 lead in the third set to force an early timeout from the Red Hawks. The home side immediately answered with six straight, including four kills from BRYN BAUTISTA. After the visitors pushed their advantage back to three, Montclair responded with five consecutive points, three coming on kills from Curran, to take the lead. With the margin 19-17, the Red Hawks closed the set with six out of the remaining 10 points, capped off by a kill from Curran.
• With the fourth set knotted up at seven, Montclair embarked on a run of six-straight points, including two aces from KATIE RODMAN and two kills from SARAH CAPONE. The Rangers would later cut the margin to 20-14, but the Red Hawks recorded four of the next five to go up nine late. Drew tallied the next three points before an attack error sealed the victory for the Red Hawks.

INSIDE THE RESULTS

• Bautista finished with a team-high 12 kills to go along with 13 digs. Horn added 10 kills with two blocks for the Red Hawks.
• LILY THOMAS notched nine kills and three blocks, with KATIE RODMAN leading Montclair in digs with 27.
• The Red Hawks saw five finish with double-figure dig totals on the night.
• The 7-3 start for Montclair is its best through 10 games since the 2019 season, when it also kicked off the campaign with wins in seven of its first 10.

FROM THE FIELD

"We had a tough time in the first set with our passing and clicking with the offense. Drew played a strong first set with their defense and serving. Second set on we settled into our offense as our passing improved. I thought Emily [Carcich] did a great job mixing her sets and offense tonight. Both Lily [Thomas] and Zoey [Horn] had great numbers. Defensively we had a great night with five players over 10-plus digs which helped our transition game." - Head Coach Eduardo Stawinski

UP NEXT

The Red Hawks will travel to Hoboken, NJ for the first night of a quad match on Friday, September 20 and face William Smith and Stevens. First serve for the pair of matches is slated for 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM.