OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. – The William Paterson volleyball team (16-8) made it a clean sweep Saturday afternoon, taking down Old Westbury (10-12) and New Jersey City (12-12) in straight sets at the Old Westbury Tri-Match.
 
The Pioneers were led offensively by junior Christine Griffith (Upper Saddle River, N.J./Northern Highlands Regional) who put down 19 kills to go with 10 digs and five blocks. Sophomore Alyson Toman (Secaucus, N.J./Secaucus) added 18 kills and junior Amanda Lembo (North Haledon, N.J./DePaul Catholic) tallied 17 on the day. Junior Irina Zaytseva (Elmwood Park, N.J./Tenafly) made big contributions with eight kills and 13 digs, while junior Kendall Caruso (Secaucus, N.J./Secaucus) added two double-doubles with 52 total assists and 21 digs over the two matches.
 
Match One – WP 3, Old Westbury 0
 
Griffith led a strong offensive attack in the opening match with a match-high 12 kills while Toman was right behind with 11 kills of her own. Caruso added her second consecutive double-double with 11 digs and 33 assists in the win.
 
The Pioneers made quick work of the Panthers, taking down Old Westbury in three sets to begin the double-header. After WP took the opening set 25-8, the Panthers battled back in the middle stanza, but the Pioneers fought off the tough battle, closing out the frame with a 25-18 victory on a kill by Griffith. Another 25-8 decision in the third set gave the Pioneers the 3-0 win against the Panthers as the Pioneers remained a perfect 3-0 on the week.
 
Match Two – WP 3, New Jersey City 0
 
Griffith and Toman again led the Pioneers in kills, tallying seven apiece in the second match. Caruso added 19 assists and 10 digs for her third double-double in as many games.
 
WP jumped ahead early in the match, taking the first two sets, 25-13. The Gothic Knights would not go down without a fight however. Trailing 19-13 late in the frame, junior Chelliah Phillips (Bergenfield, N.J./Bergenfield) put down a kill and Zaytseva followed up with a service ace to spark a rally from the Pioneers. After leveling the score, 21-21, the Gothic Knights pulled ahead 24-23, but the Pioneers took advantage of an attack error to fight off the set point, and took the lead with a kill by Zaytseva. The back and forth action continued with the Gothic Knights tying the score for the final time at 27-27 before a Lembo kill and a Gothic Knight attack error gave the Pioneers the 3-0 match victory.
 
The Pioneers return to action on Tuesday, October 24 for senior night when they host Rowan University beginning at 7:00 p.m.
 
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