UNION, N.J. (11/5/19) – Jesse Larkin and Zoe Strozewski combined for 21 kills as the Kean University women's volleyball team swept Rutgers-Newark, 3-0 in the first round of the New Jersey Athletic Conference women's volleyball championship tournament on Tuesday evening.

Strozewski totaled 11 kills and 10 blocks for the Cougars who improve to 26-8 overall and advance to Thursday's semifinal against Rowan. Comfort Akinbo finished with 13 kills for the Scarlet Raiders who finish their season at 17-11 overall.

Kean's middles dominated the match on the offensive and defensive end of the court. Larkin, Strozewski and Kayla Thornton combined for 30 kills and accounted for 17 of the 22 block assists. The Cougars finished with 12 blocks and hit .252 for the match, while Newark was held to just a .009 hitting percentage and scored only 25 points.

Strozewski drove Kean in the opening set with five kills and five block assists in the 25-15 decision. The three middles controlled the middle set with a combined nine kills as the Cougars continued to dominate with a 25-13 victory. The final set saw Thornton tally six kills on seven swings in the 25-17 victory to propel Kean to their eighth straight conference semifinal.

Brianna Calvano finished with 31 assists, eight digs and four kills, while Kortnee Nelson (20), Michelle Froehlich (11) and Amanda DeLio (10) all tallied double-digit digs.

Head Coach Don Perkins and the Cougars will return to action in Glassboro, N.J. on Thursday, Nov. 7^th, against the Profs of Rowan University in the NJAC semifinal at 7:00 p.m.