NJCU Wins Five-Set Thriller Over FDU Florham to Punch Championship Match Ticket
In a match that played deep into the fifth set, New Jersey City University got past hosts FDU Florham, 3-2 (25-22, 25-18, 18-25, 20-25, 15-10) to advance to the 2025 ECAC Division III Women’s Volleyball championship match.
Kai Fitzpatrick was the point of NJCU’s attack, posting 28 kills, on a 0.275 hitting percentage, on the afternoon. She also had 13 digs, 1 block assist, and an ace for the Gothic Knights. Diane Pugay had 18 kills, 17 digs, and 5 block assists, while also posting a match-high 4 aces. Genesis Hibbard led the team with 26 digs and had 2 aces of her own, while Munachim Nwobu, too, had a strong defensive performance with 8 block assists. Rae Marrero orchestrated the offense to the tune of 46 assists while contributing 9 digs, 1.5 blocks, and an ace.
FDU Florham had a pair of 15-kill hitters in Genevieve Fitch and Tayla O’Connor. O’Connor had 17 digs and 2 aces while Fitch also had double-digit digs with 13 and an ace of her own. Arianna Wood led all players with 29 digs and matched O’Connor with 2 aces, while Amaya Ocasio had 43 assists and 11 digs in the match.
The first set featured a handful of 3- and 4-point runs, leading to 6 lead changes and 10 ties, the last of which came at 22-22 after a FDU kill from Hannah Weinman. NJCU, in the middle of what became a 5-1 run, won the final 3 points of the set to win the opening set, 25-22.
The second set opened with 7 separate ties, but a 4-0 run from NJCU put the Gothic Knights up 12-9 in the early goings of the frame. FDU Florham cut it to 1 point in short order, but NJCU held them off and extended their lead to 21-15 with a 2-0 advantage in sight. An attack error by Vanessa Freeman gave the Gothic Knights that edge as NJCU closed out the set 25-18.
FDU Florham proved resilient though and came through, not just once, but twice with their season on the line. They used a 7-1 run to break open a 15-8 lead and, while NJCU trimmed their deficit to 18-14, the Devils forced the fourth set with a 25-18 win.
Then, in the fourth set, FDU came racing out to a 7-1 lead and looked like they would quickly force a deciding fifth set. NJCU came storming back to take an 8-7 lead and later led 12-9 with a championship berth starting to become reality once again. FDU Florham answered the call and won 9 of the next 13 points to make it 18-16. The Gothic Knights tied the game at 18-18, but a 4-0 run broke the tie and the Devils closed it out at 25-20 to force a fifth set.
NJCU had seen their 2-0 set lead become a 2-2 tie, but that didn’t stop them from coming out onto the floor with any sense of discouragement. Instead, they were dialed in and rode that focus to a 7-2 lead. FDU Florham fought back to make it 8-6 and then again had it within two at 9-7, but a 3-0 run from the Gothic Knights made it 12-7 and set NJCU to finish out the set, 15-10, and win the match 3-2.
NJCU advances to play Hartwick in the 2025 ECAC Division III Women’s Volleyball Tournament Championship this afternoon.