Union, N.J. (9/30/25) – The Kean University women's volleyball team rallied down one set to push past William Paterson University, 3-1, Tuesday evening in their NJAC opener.

Kean 3, WP 1 (15-25, 27-25, 25-21, 28-26)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Cougars (14-2, 1-0 NJAC) started slow and the Pioneers (9-5, 1-1 NJAC) capitalized, pushing out to an early 10-3 advantage.  William Paterson easily took the first set, leading from start to finish.

In a see-saw battle during the second set, the Cougars appeared to be down 2-0 (24-21), but the Pioneers committed a service error along with two attack errors, sandwiched around an ace from Arianna Vargas, to put Kean ahead, 25-24.  WP tied things at 25-all with a kill but Kean went back into the driver's seat with a kill from Ashley Torok.  A Pioneer attack error closed out the set to even the match up at one-all.

Tied at 21 in the third stanza, the Cougars rolled off four straight points with three kills from Cayley Elena Morrison along with an ace from Annabelle Valencia to go ahead, 2-1.

Kean got some momentum in the fourth frame, turning an 8-6 deficit into a 13-8 lead.  Alison Kowalewski recorded three aces in the run.  It was neck and neck down the stretch as William Paterson took a 26-25 lead off a kill from Emeli Giesler, but Torok helped close the door with two kills to go ahead 27-26.  Senior Aspen O'Brien served an ace to close things out for their first NJAC win of the season.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

Morrison finished 15 kills.  Alondra Thais Sanjurjo Mercado posted six blocks while Madeline Dohogne collected 21 digs.  Torok finished with a match-high 16 kills along with eight digs while Victoria Latino posted 11 kills and three blocks.

For the Pioneers, Cecilia Miller registered 15 kills.

UP NEXT:

Kean travels to Rutgers-Camden on Thursday, continuing NJAC play.