Box Score 

WAYNE, N.J. – William Paterson (19-7, 3-5 NJAC) locked up a bid to the New Jersey Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament with a 3-0 victory against visiting Rutgers-Newark (3-26, 1-7) in the conference regular-season finale Oct. 28.

The Pioneers will be the sixth seed in the tournament, and will play at third-seeded Ramapo in the first round Tuesday, Nov. 4, at 7:00 p.m.

The Pioneers, who were celebrating Senior Night, jumped out to leads of 9-2 and 20-7 before winning the first set 25-9. William Paterson again built an early lead, ahead 11-6 in the second set, before the Scarlet Raiders cut that advantage to 12-11. The Pioneers responded by scoring 10 of the next 12 points, winning the second set 25-14. WP then finished the match by winning the third set, 25-8, after building a 15-2 lead.

Junior Kelly Helfrich (Clark, N.J./Arthur L. Johnson) led William Paterson with 10 kills and 15 digs, while Samantha Reed (Dumont, N.J./Dumont) chipped in 12 digs, four service aces and six kills. Sophomore Jillian Bronowich (Secaucus, N.J./Secaucus) had 15 assists, freshman Megan Maher (Wood-Ridge, N.J./Wood-Ridge) contributed 12 assists and eight kills, and senior Mailyn Rodriguez (Hackensack, N.J./Hackensack) added four kills and three digs. For Reed and Rodriguez, it was their final home match at the Rec Center.

For Rutgers-Newark, sophomore Crystal Navarro had six kills, junior Val Dauti contributed a team-best seven digs, and junior Christina Francisco added seven assists,

William Paterson will finish the regular season Thursday, Oct. 30, at Cedar Crest at 7:00 p.m.