Photo Courtesy of montclairathletics.com
The Montclair State Women’s Volleyball team’s offense was a no show as Stockton University overpowered the Red Hawks and swept the match 3-0 on Tuesday.
This was Montclair State’s first game against a New Jersey Athletic Conference opponent this season and it was a rocky first match as the Red Hawks did not win a single set.
It was the first time this season that the Red Hawks were swept in three straight sets and the first time in more than a year that they did not break the 20-point threshold in any set.
The last time Montclair State met the Stockton University Osprey was back in November of 2016, in the semifinals of the NJAC Volleyball Tournament Championship. The Red Hawks were two sets down but came back to beat the Osprey 3-2.
Needless to say, Stockton University’s victory over Montclair State Tuesday night was bittersweet. Montclair State dropped the first of the three sets 25-10. Stockton started with the first five points of the set to eventually gain a 19-9 lead. A six-point rally by Stockton would close out the set.
The second set was a much closer matchup between the NJAC rivals. After being tied up at 12-12, Stockton pulled away from Montclair State with a seven-point outbreak to lead 19-12. Montclair would end up closing the gap at 24-19, but Stockton came up with a big block to capture another set point and winning the match 25-19.
Things were in Montclair State’s favor to start the third set. They started with a 4-1 lead in the set but was quickly erased by a four-point comeback from Stockton. The two teams would end up tying each other nine times in the third set. Tied at 12-12, Stockton got back into the driver’s seat and scored the next four points. This was as close as the Red Hawks could get, as they dropped the last set 25-17.
Stockton University’s revenge on Montclair State would give them their seventh straight victory. Montclair State has dropped two of their last three games.
This game for the Red Hawks should be a wakeup call for them. The season is still fresh and replicating last season’s success is still a possibility. Right now, Montclair State is playing how they closed out last year’s regular season; going back and forth with each victory and loss.
The one spot on the team that needs to be looked over is the offense. Defensively, the Red Hawks faired pretty well, racking up more blocks than Stockton. Junior Natalia Majkut had four of the Red Hawks six total blocks. On the other hand, two Stockton players combined for 19 kills for the Osprey. The Montclair State Women’s Volleyball team had 23 kills. The Red Hawks also amassed 16 errors and two aces, while Stockton had 12 errors and 17 aces.
The Women’s Volleyball team has time to figure out their offensive problems, as their next game is this Saturday, Sept. 16, against Lehman College at 11 a.m. in Montclair. Their next NJAC opponent is Kean University, who they play Tuesday, Sept. 19.
