NEWARK, N.J. – The Saint Peter's volleyball team (2-2) took down NJIT (1-3) in four sets (25-20, 30-32, 25-13, 25-19) on Tuesday night at the Joel & Diane Bloom Wellness & Events Center (WEC), picking up its second-ever win at the WEC.
"It was a great win, even though we lost that second set," said head coach
Fernando Colon after the victory. "Once they settled in, they showed some grit. We adjusted in the third set, and the momentum carried into the fourth set and we were able to close it out. Overall, it was a good job by our team."
Any time the Highlanders went on a run, the Peacocks had an answer.
Indira T. Benitez Dumeng continued her great start to the season, leading the way with a team-high 11 kills while hitting an impressive .375.
Sibana González Acevedo also recorded 11 kills along with nine digs, two blocks and three aces. She currently leads the MAAC in aces with 14.
The Peacocks were strong at the net all night, racking up 12 blocks.
Elena Bilhartz was a big part of that as she totaled eight blocks. She also added eight kills on the offensive end and finished with a .375 hitting percentage.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE: To start the match, both the Peacocks and Highlanders traded points to an 8-8 tie as neither team could gain much separation. NJIT then took a three-point lead, 12-9, following back-to-back kills. Saint Peter's responded with five unanswered points to regain the advantage and force an NJIT timeout. Out of the timeout, two attack errors and a kill by Pagan Munoz extended the Peacocks' lead to five at 17-12. The Highlanders almost came back late in the set, but only managed to come within three. SPU earned set point off an NJIT attack error and then won the set, 25-20, with a kill by Benitez Dumeng.
SET TWO: The Peacocks started slow in the second set, facing a 2-9 deficit, but bounced back with a scoring run to come within two at 7-9. From there, Saint Peter's continued to fight and chip away at the NJIT lead. A kill by
Jaizahir Marrero George gave the Peacocks their first lead of the set, 20-19. SPU had set point shortly after, but the Highlanders managed back-to-back points to tie it at 24 all. Both teams had opportunities to win the set, but it wasn't until an NJIT kill and a Saint Peter's attack error gave the Highlanders the set, 32-30.
SET THREE: The Peacocks went on a 5-1 scoring run early in the set to take a commanding, 10-5, lead over the Highlanders and force a timeout. After the break, Gonzalez Acevedo rattled off back-to-back aces to extend Saint Peter's lead to seven. The Peacocks continued to have it their way in the third set as they found themselves leading NJIT, 20-9. An ace by
Alondra Fargas gave Saint Peter's set point before Benitez Dumeng finished things off with a kill, taking the set 25-13.
SET FOUR: In a 12-12 tie, Saint Peter's scored five straight points to go up, 17-12. This scoring run was the turning point in the set and really helped give the Peacocks a cushion. Gonzalez Acevedo was a force down the stretch as she picked up two kills and two aces, putting SPU up, 23-16. Saint Peter's won the set, 25-19, and the match after a service error by NJIT.
UP NEXT
The Peacocks now shift their focus to a doubleheader on Saturday, Sept. 6. Saint Peter's plays Mercyhurst at 10 a.m. ET, followed by another matchup against Holy Cross at 1 p.m. It will be the second meeting between the Peacocks and Highlanders this season.
NOTES
The Peacocks are now 7-19 all-time vs. NJIT and 2-8 against the Highlanders on the road…the only other time Saint Peter's has won consecutive games against NJIT came in 2014-15…this marked the Peacocks' second win at the WEC in program history, with the first coming in last year's season opener…Saint Peter's had nine aces at the line compared to NJIT's one.
