William Paterson Volleyball took down Montclair State University 3-1 on Tuesday, November 11, in four hard-fought sets.

The Pioneers took the first set in quick fashion with a 25-16 win, which included a 7-1 run from the Pioneers to finish it off.

In the second set, William Paterson also won, but not without a little adversity. This set was much closer in score, 25-20, and was tied late in the game at 19-19. The Pioneers were able to close out the set with a 6-1 run.

In the third set, Montclair State was victorious; again, the score was 25-20. William Paterson was able to make a bit of a late comeback, but it ultimately wasn’t enough as the Pioneers fell short in the third set.

In the fourth set, William Paterson and Montclair State traded points back and forth until the very end of the set. Point after point was long and tense, but a final hit from junior Kristian Glenn secured the set and match win for William Paterson.

Other notable performances from the match came from junior Cecilia Miller with a season-best 20 digs and junior Sofia Zablackis with a season-high 8 blocks.

William Paterson University is set to take on Kean University on Thursday, November 13, at Kean University.

The Pioneers are currently seeded 4th in the tournament, while the Courgars are the tournament’s No. 1 seed.

The last time that the Pioneers and Cougars faced off, Kean won 3-1. But three of the four sets played were very close in score, won only by a difference of four points.

Both teams are stacked with conference honorees. Notably out of Kean, Aspen O’Brien as the NJAC Player of the Year and Cayley Elena Morrison as the NJAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year.

From William Paterson, Bella Demers as NJAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year and Cecilia Miller as a Second Team All-Conference Honoree.

The match is sure to be an interesting one as William Paterson University Volleyball looks to defend their throne, attempting to become back-to-back conference champions.