Newark, NJ – The Montclair State University volleyball team (21-4, 5-2 NJAC) traveled for NJAC play at Rutgers-Newark (7-17, 1-5 NJAC) and came away with a clean sweep of the Scarlet Raiders, 3-0 on Thursday night.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Scarlet Raiders had the early advantage with a 4-1 lead, but Montclair clawed back with a 5-1 run to make the score 6-5. Both teams then continued to volley back points with Montclair holding a slight advantage of 13-10. At that score, a kill from CAMRYN MUUSS sparked a run of 11 unanswered points that jumped the Red Hawks out to a commanding 23-10 lead. Rutgers-Newark scored three of the next four points, but an attack error ended the set with Montclair taking a 25-13 lead.
• Montclair controlled all of the second set. They jumped out to a 10-3 advantage, led by three kills each from Muuss and SOFIA DIPROFIO. After a service error, the Red Hawks rattled off the next seven points to take a 17-4 lead. The rest of the way was a back-and-forth affair with no real run generated. BREANNA CRAIG knocked down the final point of the set, and the Red Hawks took set two, 25-13.
• Set three started even with a slight Montclair advantage of 4-3. Another kill by Muuss began a 6-0 run that pushed them out to a 10-3 edge. The Scarlet Raiders clawed back, scoring six of the next nine points to cut the lead to 13-9. A short 4-1 run led to a 17-10 advantage for Montclair, and after three straight points from Newark, it had a run of 5-1 to hold a 23-14 advantage. Both teams exchanged points up to LILY THOMAS hammering down the match point to close out the clean sweep in Newark.
   

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• It was a phenomenal hitting night for Montclair. They finished with a hitting percentage of .391, their best mark this season. Muuss led the way with 13 kills, followed closely by BRYN BAUTISTA, who collected 12. Bautista was one dig off from a double-double with nine in the match.
• LUCY CORNELIUS finished with 37 assists, four kills, and two service aces, while EMMA HATCHER led the team in both digs (15) and service aces (3).
• With the win, Montclair matched its win total of 21 that it achieved in a phenomenal 2024 season. With six matches to go, they have an opportunity to make history as they chase the 2016 season, which has the program record of 26.

 
FROM THE COURT

• "We played very well tonight and had offensive production close to a .400 hitting percentage. Credit to our passers to keep the ball in system, and Lucy had another great match moving the offense around. Playing Tuesday and Thursday in conference is tough, and ending up 2-0 is great, leading to the end of conference play. Proud of our effort and focus this week." Head Coach Eduardo Stawinski

 
UP NEXT

• Montclair will travel up to New York State for a tri-match at SUNY New Paltz on Saturday, October 25. They will face the host Hawks at 11:30 a.m., followed directly by a matchup against Clark at 1:30 p.m.