Montclair State University Athletics

Montclair, NJ – The Montclair State University volleyball team (1-0) opened the 2026 season with a strong performance, sweeping Manhattanville, 3-0, on Tuesday evening.  

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Montclair started strong with a trio of points to kick off the contest, including the first collegiate kill by AVA FIELDER. The Red Hawks let the Valiants back into the match with three straight errors, and the two teams started trading blows. Facing a small 10-9 deficit, Montclair scored five of the next six points with kills from BREANNA CRAIG and Fielder. Manhattanville swung back with a mirroring run that was followed by five unanswered points for Montclair that gave them a 20-16 lead. Manhattanville tallied five of the next seven points before Montclair closed out the first set with three-straight points for a 25-21 first-set win. KASEY TRZASKA and Fielder each recorded a kill in the final push.
• The Red Hawks came out of the first intermission swinging, jumping out to a commanding 11-3 lead. Five different Red Hawks scored during that stretch. Manhattanville narrowed the deficit to 12-8, but Montclair used a 6-2 run to keep a comfortable distance of 18-10. Fielder tallied another two kills in that run. The Valiants made one more surge at a score of 20-12, scoring six of the next eight to push to within four. Both teams volleyed the score down the stretch, and LILY THOMAS hammered down the final point of the set with another 25-21 set win.
• Set three kicked off with a Montclair advantage of 7-3. The Valiants refused to go down without a fight and used an 8-2 run that included six unanswered points to go up 12-8. Following each team scoring four unanswered points, the Red Hawks swung the pendulum back with a 6-2 run to nod the contest at 18-18. Just when Manhattanville thought they could pull away after scoring the next three, Montclair soared past with seven-straight points and secured a third 25-21 set win to complete the sweep. In the final push, Craig put down three kills, Fielder had two, and LEAH ROBLES had a service ace.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Volleyball has now won each of its last five opening day contests. Three of those five teams they defeated were teams that were in the NCAA Tournament the previous season (Manhattanville in 2026, Smith in 2025, and Gallaudet in 2022).
• Craig led the way in kills with a double-digit effort of 13. It was tied for her second-best performance of her Red Hawk career, matching the 13 she had last season against Mount Aloysius. Craig also swung for a .667 attacking percentage.
• LUCY CORNELIUS picked up where she left off after a stellar freshman campaign. She dished out 32 assists and led the team with three service aces and added eight digs. She now has 20 contests in her career with 30+ assists.
• Two newcomers stood out in the stat sheet for Montclair. Fielder finished second on the team in kills with eight. ALEENA WHITEHEAD was stout on the backline at the libero position, recording a team-high 22 digs.

 
FROM THE COURT

• "We did a good job adjusting and settling the nerves in that first set. When we calmed things down, our defense did its job to keep the ball alive and create opportunities for our offense. We had many contributors tonight, and we played a solid all-around game. Looking forward to this weekend as we face some quality competition at the Oneonta Tournament." Head Coach Eduardo Stawinski 

 
UP NEXT

• The Red Hawks head to Oneonta, NY for a four-game weekend slate. They start on Friday, September 4, with matchups against Rochester (3:00 p.m.) and Paul Smith's (5:00 p.m.).