Photo Courtesy of Ramapo Athletics
The Women’s Volleyball Team won its first NJAC matchup of the season by taking down the New Jersey City University Gothic Knights in straight sets.
The Roadrunners won the match by a combined score of 75-29 (25-7, 25-10, 25-12). The Roadrunners improve to 6-3 overall, 1-0 in the NJAC.
Head coach Robert Pichardo said that his team’s dominant performance simply came down to “control.”
“Just being able to read a good game, and then just do what is enough to get the points,” said Pichardo. “It’s not about having an overpowering game.”
The Roadrunners had a rough weekend in the Roadrunner Invitational, going 2-2 against teams that Pichardo called “tough competition,” but Pichardo said his team had to focus on the Gothic Knights.
“Going 2-2 was concerning,” said Pichardo. “Some of our players were a little banged up, but we tried to work on those things. We had a better game by having a slower pace and just trying to recuperate.”
Despite the rough weekend, Pichardo said he had high expectations for Tuesday’s game.
“We were pretty confident in our game,” said Pichardo. “We had a good mindset of a positive outcome.”
Sophomore outside hitter Larysa Iwaskiw, who won the NJAC Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 13, led the Roadrunners hitting .800 in the match with 12 kills on 15 attempts and no errors while also recording six digs.
“She brings everything to the table,” said Pichardo. “This is a player that demands a lot from her players in order for us to push through.”
Junior middle blocker Emily Guzman took a shot at the outside hitter position on Tuesday, something that Pichardo said she was nervous about.
“She didn’t want to make any dumb mistakes,” said Pichardo. Despite her nerves, she tallied nine kills while also adding three digs and a block.
Kelly Nichiro added seven kills on 11 attempts to hit .636 in the match. Senior setter Nicole Herrmann dished out a team high 28 assists, while senior libero Emily Harris, rookie Kristen Behrens and sophomore Sarah Mulligan each posted five digs. Ramapo hit .422 in the match with 43 kills on 83 attempts and only eight errors, while NJCU hit -.082, recording 17 errors compared to just 12 kills.
Starting tonight, the Roadrunners will begin a five-game road trip, as they take on the William Paterson Pioneers before traveling to Saratoga Springs, New York for the Skidmore Tournament. They will end their road trip on Tuesday when they take on Montclair State University.
However, Pichardo believes his team will keep a positive mindset.
“We just have to stay focused on what we have to do and not worry about what other teams are bringing to the table,” said Pichardo. “We know it’s going to be tough competition, and we respect that, but we just have to focus on our part of the game.”
rmorik@ramapo.edu
