Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State University volleyball team, which is now receiving votes in the AVCA Division III Poll, seeks to continue its hot start when it welcomes Baruch and Lebanon Valley for tri-match action on Saturday.

GAME INFO
The matches will be played in the Panzer Athletic Center. Montclair will face Baruch at 12:00 p.m., Baruch will take on Lebanon Valley at 2:00 p.m., and Montclair will face Lebanon Valley at 4:00 p.m. Live coverage of the match can be found at montclairathletics.com.

LAST TIME OUT
Montclair came out of a back-to-back tri-match weekend perfect when they downed Washington College, 3-1, and Hartwick, 3-0, this past Saturday. The Red Hawks (4-0) were hot out of the gate to kick off the afternoon, recording four of the first five points. After the Shorewomen ended the run with a point, Montclair rattled off five of the next six highlighted by kills from BREANNA CRAIG, BRYN BAUTISTA, and CAMRYN MUUSS. Later in the stanza, the visitors cut the margin to 16-14 before Craig notched another kill. Consecutive attack errors increased the lead to five, but Washington College trimmed the set to two again at 19-17. Montclair closed out strong with a 6-1 run to take an early lead in the match. Washington College surged into the lead to begin the second set, building a 11-4 advantage. Craig ended the run with back-to-back kills, but the Shorewomen answered with six of the next seven points to push the advantage up to nine. LILY THOMAS recorded two of the next three on kills, but the visitors ended the second set with the final six points. Locked at nine through the first 18 points of the third stanza, Muuss put Montclair in front with a kill before BRYN BAUTISTA tallied consecutive service aces to increase the margin to three. Washington College countered with five of the next eight to come within two, 17-15. The Red Hawks rattled off the final eight points to reclaim the lead in the match, highlighted by five kills from Bautista. Fighting a slim 8-7 deficit in the early stages of the fourth frame, LUCY CORNELIUS tallied back-to-back kills, and an attack error from the Shorewomen vaulted Montclair in front. Three-straight from the visitors created a slim 11-10 advantage, but the Red Hawks accumulated six of the next seven points on five errors and a service ace from Bautista. Washington College made a late push in the match, cutting the score to 24-19, but Muuss finished the set off with a kill for a Montclair victory. Against Hartwick, the Red Hawks compiled a 6-3 advantage in the opening set on kills from Muuss, Bautista, and Thomas. The Hawks battled back to take the lead twice, but the home side countered with five-straight points, a run capped off by BREANNA CRAIG, to take a 12-8 lead. Hartwick answered once again and reclaimed the lead multiple times late, at 21-20. Bautista and SOFIA DIPROFIO notched kills to push Montclair in front, and Thomas recorded another to seal the opening stanza. Hartwick opened the second set with four-straight and built a 6-2 lead before Montclair equalized with four consecutive markers. In a back-and-forth battle, the Red Hawks built a 14-11 advantage led by kills from the trio of Thomas, Bautista, and Muuss. With the match level at 22, Bautista put Montclair in front along with an attack error before three-straight points from the Hawks put them at set point. The home side closed with three of their own, capped off by a service ace from EMMA HATCHER. A 6-0 run early in the third frame from Montclair put them in front 8-6, and later built the margin to four on two Hartwick errors and a kill from Craig. The visitors battled back to reclaim the advantage at 13-12, as the two sides would trade points for a chunk of the set. Up one, the Red Hawks closed the match strong with six of the last seven points, highlighted by kills from Muuss and Bautista.
 
2025 TEAM LEADERS
MONTCLAIR STATE (4-0)
Kills: CAMRYN MUUSS, 45
Assists: LUCY CORNELIUS, 125
Digs: EMMA HATCHER, 57
Aces: EMMA HATCHER, 15
Blocks: LILY THOMAS, 10
 
BARUCH (0-5)
Kills: Dibjot Kaur, 52
Assists: Karen Pozo Castro, 82
Digs: Pei Qiong Ren, 58
Aces: Ella Wang, 13
Blocks: Ella Wang, 6

LEBANON VALLEY (1-3)
Kills: Mattea Penner, 29
Assists: Sophia Okronley, 78
Digs: Mattea Penner, 31
Aces: Sophia Okronley, 5
Blocks: Two Tied for 12

SCOUTING BARUCH
The Bearcats enter this tri-match still seeking their first win of the season with a 0-5 record. In their last matchup on Thursday, they dropped a clean sweep to Maritime, 3-0. In 2024, they posted a 9-18 overall record and a 3-4 CUNYAC record. They qualified for the conference tournament and secured a win in the quarterfinals to CCNY, 3-1, but were defeated in the semifinals by Hunter, 3-0. According to the 2025 CUNYAC Preseason Poll, the Bearcats are projected to place fourth.
 
SCOUTING LEBANON VALLEY
The Dutchmen enter this tri-match with a 1-3 record after securing their first win of the season on Tuesday against Hood, 3-0. In 2024, LVC was two games above .500 at 15-13 and had a 5-2 conference record in the MAC Freedom. They qualified for the conference tournament but were downed in the semifinals by Stevens, 3-1. According to the 2025 MAC Freedom Preseason Poll, the Dutchmen are slated to finish fourth again.

SERIES HISTORY
The Red Hawks and the Bearcats face off for the 23^rd time in program history. Montclair holds the all-time record at 14-8 and has won each of the past eight matches. The series between Montclair and Lebanon Valley enters double-digits at 10. The Dutchmen have the advantage at 7-2 and have won the last six against the Red Hawks

LAST MEETING
The last time Montclair matched up against Baruch was last season on October 12, where Montclair swept Baruch, 3-0. It's been since October 23, 2015, since the Red Hawks and the Dutchmen faced off, where Lebanon Valley earned a decisive 3-0 triumph

UP NEXT
Montclair State University will enter the NYU Royals Tournament starting next Friday, September 12, where they face off against #21 Christopher Newport at 4:30 p.m.