Montclair State University Athletics

New York, NY – The Montclair State University volleyball team (5-1) kicked off its second-straight invitational on Friday evening in the NYU Season-Opening Invitational. The Red Hawks faced off with the host #25 Violets (3-2), where they dropped the opening showdown, 3-1.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Set one was the grittiest set the Red Hawks have played this season. New York jumped out to a 6-2 lead, but Montclair responded with four of the next five points to put the match at 7-7. From there until the end of the set, the Red Hawks went point-for-point and run-for-run. Through the end of the set, the two teams battled through 19 tied scores and seven lead changes. In the end, LILY THOMAS powered down a kill and an attack error by NYU, helping Montclair prevail by a score of 31-29. BREANNA CRAIG led the way in that set with five kills.
• The Violets regrouped in the second and came out strong with five unanswered points before a kill from LEAH ROBLES and a tag-team block by LILY THOMAS and SOFIA DIPROFIO halted the run. Montclair battled back to a score of 7-7. Following the two teams trading a pair of kills, New York University took command of the second frame with an 11-0 run that pushed them out in front 20-9. ADDI SYMONS added a kill late in the set, but NYU came away with a win in set two, 25-11.
• NYU scraped by with small advantages early in the third set. Montclair kept the match close until, at 9-8 Violets, NYU scored five straight points to take a 14-8 lead. The Red Hawks clawed their way to within a few points on several attempts but were unable to flip the script. With a lead of 21-19, NYU sealed the set three-win, scoring four of the last five points for a 25-20 victory.
• The Red Hawks ran out of steam in the fourth set. Despite kills from AVA FIEDLER and DiProfio that gave them an early lead of 2-1, the Violets took command the rest of the way. NYU saw its most productive set in the match, hitting .696 with 16 kills and had four service aces. The Violets clinched the match with a 25-8 win in set four and handed Montclair its first loss of the season.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Fiedler continues to show her presence on the court in her rookie season, leading the team with 10 kills.
• Montclair tied its best blocking effort of the season with 10 on the night. LILY THOMAS led with three total blocks on the night.
• LUCY CORNELIUS finished with 28 assists in the match. She is currently averaging 6.94 per set.

FROM THE COURT

• "We played great the first set, in which we battled back and forth. I think we did a great job blocking on the serve receive that set. Unfortunately, our serve receive broke down and forced us into errors. Proud of our effort, and we will use this match to learn and grow as a team." Head Coach Eduardo Stawinski

UP NEXT

• Montclair finishes the rest of the NYU Season-Opening Invitational on Saturday, September 12 with a doubleheader. They will face St. Thomas (TX) at 10:00 a.m. and follow up with Emerson at 2:30 p.m.