Women's Volleyball Sweep Pair of Matches to Wrap Up Siena Invitational

The NJIT women's volleyball team had a perfect Saturday to cap off the Siena Invitational, sweeping Idaho and Siena in straight sets. The Highlanders were in control throughout both matches, defeating the Vandals in the morning (25-23, 25-13, 25-20) before finishing off the tournament against the host Saints (25-21, 25-16, 25-19).

NJIT 3, Idaho 0
Set one went back-and-forth throughout, but a four-point scoring burst highlighted by a kill from Aries Fontaine put the Highlanders up a pair, 22-20. After Idaho fought back to knot things up at 23-23, NJIT collected the final two points it needed to claim the opening set.

The Highlanders dominated set two, growing the lead to as large as 17-3 at one point in the frame. Idaho attempted to chip away a the deficit late, but NJIT was too much to handle as kills from Ines Varela, Siefert and Ilayda Dincer gave the Highlanders the set two victory.

Looking to slam the door shut on an Idaho comeback, the Highlanders built a seven point advantage midway through the set after a service ace from Finley McAndrew. Later in the set, the Vandals fended off three straight match points to stay alive and draw closer, 24-20. Fontaine would seal the deal, collecting her seventh kill of the match to give NJIT the win.

Varela notched a team-best 10 kills on an efficient .529 hitting percentage. Ema Torres and Siefert each finished with eight kills, while Siefert added nine digs and three service aces.

NJIT 3, Siena 0
After the match opened up with the two sides trading points, the Highlanders took the lead for good after a kill by Dincer and consecutive attack errors from the Saints. Siena would fight back to even the score, 18-18, but a key 4-0 run from NJIT capped by a kill from Taylor West helped the visitors pull away.

Much like the previous match, the second set was dominated by the Highlanders. Siena had the momentum early, but an 8-0 run from NJIT turned the tide and gave the Highlanders a 14-10 lead. After Siena scored the next three points, NJIT rattled off 11 of the next 14 points to claim the set.

In set three, the two sides once again could not gain separation from one another for the early portion of play. NJIT used a big run to its advantage once again, scoring seven straight points to go from trailing by one to ahead by six, 20-14. Doga Emil capped off the straight sets win with a kill to give NJIT its second win of the day.

Torres led the Highlanders with 10 kills to go with seven digs and a .350 hitting percentage. Emil collected 24 digs in just three sets, paired with two kills and two assists. Both Torres and Emil were named to the Siena Invitational All-Tournament Team.

Up Next
The Highlanders return to the Wellness & Events Center on Tuesday night as they welcome Penn to Newark. First serve is slated for 6 p.m.