Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State University volleyball team notched a pair of victories to kick off the 2025 campaign at the Panzer Athletic Center.

Montclair took down Smith in four sets, 3-1, and swept Mount Aloysius in three sets to cap off the night.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Red Hawks (2-0) opened their match against Smith with three consecutive points and built a 10-5 advantage early in the opening set. After the visitors trimmed the deficit to three, Montclair collected three of the next four points, including kills from LUCY CORNELIUS and BRYN BAUTISTA. The Red Hawks continued to show strong offensively as LILY THOMAS notched a pair of kills and Bautista added another to push the lead to seven, 18-11. Smith cut the deficit to two with a 7-2 run and later got within one at 21-20. Montclair closed the set with four of the final five points.
• Smith rattled off four of the first five points of the second stanza before Montclair answered with three straight, capped off by a service ace from EMMA HATCHER. With the score level at 10, the home side notched four consecutive points, including a kill from Bautista and another pair from Thomas. The Bears crept back within one later in the frame at 19-18, and Montclair countered with three of the next four on two errors and a kill from Thomas. After Smith brought the deficit within one again, the Red Hawks closed the set with four of the final five points.
• The two sides battled a close open to the third set, with both sides being level at 10 through the first 20 points. Smith embarked on a 9-4 extended run and later pushed the advantage to 21-14 late in the stanza. BREANNA CRAIG notched a kill to briefly stop the run from the Bears, who ended the frame with the final four points.
• Montclair kicked off the fourth set strong with six of the first eight points, a run headlined by two service aces from Hatcher. Smith cut the game to 8-6, but CAMRYN MUUSS and Craig countered with kills to nudge the margin back to four. With the set level at 15, Bautista tallied a kill and Hatcher recorded another service ace as part of a 5-1 run. An attack error from the Bears later in the set pushed the advantage to 23-18, and the Red Hawks tallied two of the final three points to clinch the match.
• The home side began their match against Mount Aloysius strong as they compiled the first five points, including kills from SOFIA DIPROFIO and Bautista. The Mounties equalized at six, level the contest seven more times to get the score to 18-18 late in the frame. Craig notched a kill, and an attack error pushed the Red Hawk lead to two and forced a visitor timeout. Three more points from Montclair increased the lead to five, and after Mount Aloysius cut the game to 24-23, Cornelius tallied the final point of the opening stanza.
• Mount Aloysius jumped out to a 8-6 lead early in the second set and increased their advantage to 15-9 at the halfway point. Muuss countered with two of the next three points, and Craig notched another kill as part of five-straight points to cut the deficit to one. The Mounties answered with three consecutive points of their own, but Montclair responded with eight of the next nine points to surge in front, 22-19. The visitors reclaimed the lead late in the second, going up 25-24, but Bautista leveled on a kill and the Red Hawks tallied the next two points to take the set.
• The visitors opened the third frame with five of the first six points before Montclair rattled off the next nine to go up 10-5. After the Mounties cut the deficit to three, the Red Hawks embarked on a 7-1 run headlined by back-to-back service aces from Muuss to push the lead to nine. Mount Aloysius crept back into the contest at 20-13, but the hosts closed out the day with five of the last seven points.

INSIDE THE RESULTS

• Bautista led the way for Montclair in the first match with a team-high 12 kills and added 14 kills. Muuss added 11 kills as the other Red Hawk in double-figures.
• Hatcher accumulated seven service aces against Smith, matching her career-high that she set in each of the past three seasons.
• Craig led the way in the second match with a team-high 13 kills to go along with three blocks. Muuss added eight kills and nine digs.
• Defensively, Hatcher notched a team-high 14 digs, with Cornelius compiling 10.

FROM THE COURT

"This was a great start to the 2025 season. We faced a talented and well coached Smith team and were able to have a strong start in the first two sets. We did a great job settling down and finishing the match in 4 sets. I was very impressed with Mount Aloysius relentless defense. They kept us on our toes on offense and had to find ways to earn points on defense and serving. I am proud of our effort opening up with quality teams. Lucy did a great job in her first collegiate match running the offense, Emma had a great defense and serve receive night. We are looking forward to another tough test tomorrow." - Head Coach Eduardo Stawinski

UP NEXT

The Red Hawks will continue their season-opening six match homestand on Saturday, August 30, as they host Washington College (Md.) and Hartwick. Game times are scheduled for 12:00 PM and 4:00 PM, respectively.