UNION, N.J. – The William Paterson women's volleyball team (3-2, 0-1 NJAC) dropped their New Jersey Athletic Conference opener Tuesday evening, falling to Kean University (5-4, 1-0 NJAC) 3-0 inside Harwood Arena.
 
Freshman Dakota Apicella (Kendall Park, N.J./South Brunswick) had her most productive game of the season, putting down five kills and adding two service aces, one block and six digs in the match. Sophomore Alyson Toman (Secaucus, N.J./Secaucus) led the Pioneers with 12 kills and sophomore Barbara Colizza (Hawthorne, N.J./Hawthorne) also added six digs in the back line.
 
It was an offensive struggle early on for William Paterson in the NJAC opener, as the Pioneers recorded just seven kills in the opening set while the Cougars put down 18 kills on the opposite side. Despite the struggle offensively, the Pioneers took advantage of some early miscues from Kean to keep it 12-9 midway through the opening set. It was all Kean the rest of the way however, and the Cougars took the opening stanza 25-17.
 
Set two was a back and forth battle early on, but a kill by Toman and an attacking error by the Cougars gave the Pioneers a 7-5 advantage in the early goings. The battle continued over the next 20 points, as the two squads found themselves tied 16-16 before two kills and a service ace by Kean gave the Cougars a three-point advantage, forcing a timeout by William Paterson. Out of the timeout, a kill by Toman cut the deficit to two and after a Cougar point, junior Amanda Lembo (North Haledon, N.J./DePaul Catholic) put down another kill to once again make it a two point deficit, but four consecutive points from Kean put the set out of reach and put the Pioneers behind 2-0 in the match.
 
The Pioneers looked to have a chance to stay alive in the third set, battling their way to a 20-16 advantage late in the set. The Cougars would not go down lightly however, scoring five of the next six points to tie the set 21-21. A William Paterson timeout could not stop the momentum though, as the Cougars run continued with four consecutive points to take the set 25-21 and the match 3-0.
 
William Paterson returns to Recreation Center on Thursday when they host Purchase College in a non-conference matchup beginning at 7:00 p.m.
 
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