William Paterson Prevails to Eliminate Volleyball from NJAC Tournament

The Montclair State University volleyball team saw its season come to an end Tuesday evening, dropping a four-set battle to William Paterson University, 3-1, in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) quarterfinals at Panzer Athletic Center. The Red Hawks (22-9) took full control in the first set, soaring to a 25-15 decision, but the Pioneers (20-11) rallied to earn three consecutive set victories of 26-24, 25-23, and 25-21 to advance to the NJAC Semifinals. In the second set, Montclair State held onto a 24-20 advantage, on the brink of taking a 2-0 set lead, but William Paterson had other plans. The Pioneers stormed back for six unanswered points, forcing four consecutive attack errors to take the set 26-24. The surge was led by freshman middle blocker Kristen Mendez, who started the run with a kill and rode five service points to close out the second frame. “We had players step up when we needed them to step up,” William Paterson head coach Kevin Rodgers said.

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