Saturday, September 11
New Brunswick, N.J.
10:00 AM
Brown University
4-2,0-0Ivy League
3
vs
0
NJIT
1-6,0-0America East
1
2
3
F
NJIT
17
18
17
0
Brown
25
25
25
3
Photo by: David Silverman Photography
Hot hitting offense leads volleyball to win against NJIT
9/11/2021 7:04:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
The Bears split two matches on Saturday with a win over NJIT and a loss against Rutgers.
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Brown finished its weekend at Rutgers splitting two matches with a win over NJIT and a loss against Rutgers on Saturday (Sept. 11). The Bears offense shined in the first match but quieted down in the nightcap.
Zoe Ubamadu was named to the All-Tournament team after three strong performances in the middle for Brown.
Match 1 – vs NJIT
The Bears offense was prolific in the first match of the day, hitting .398 as a team. It is the best hitting percentage for Brown since hitting .417 against Farleigh Dickinson on Sept. 14, 2019.
"We started out with a couple of good swings and we felt like we had the ability to move the ball around," said head coach Ahem Kim. "Everyone hit really well. The middle got going and then everything else opens up. All of the hitters really stepped up for their setters."
Kate Sheire led the way for Brown with 12 kills and committed just one error, while hitting .579. Sophia Miller joined Sheire in double figures with 12 kills, hitting .389. Both Beau Vanderlaan (seven kills) and Zoe Ubamadu (six kills) hit over .400, hitting .462 and .417, respectively.
Down 6-3 in the first set, Brown took advantage of multiple NJIT errors and got kills by Vanderlaan, Sheire and Jilienne Widener to go on a 10-0 run. NJIT would get within four at one point but that was the closest the set would get as Brown took set one 25-17, hitting .357 in the first set.
The offense went to the next level in the second set, hitting .483 with 17 kills and just three errors. The set was back-and-forth with the score tied at 15 before three kills by Miller and one by Ubamadu helped Brown score five-straight to go up 20-15. Up 22-18, the Bears got two kills by Sheire to close out set two 25-18.
Up 7-6 in the third set, Brown picked up two kills from Miller and an ace by Vanderlaan to go up 10-6. Sheire added two kills as the defense earned two points with blocks by the duo of Ubamadu and Widener and Ubamadu and Sheire to score four more points. Another 3-0 late put Brown up 22-13 and after trading points, Vanderlaan closed out the match with a kill.
Match 2 – at Rutgers
The weekend closed with Brown falling in three sets to Rutgers. Beau Vanderlaan and Kayla Griebl each had eight kills to lead the team. Both Sophia Miller and Zoe Ubamadu added five kills. After hitting over .400 in the first match of the day, the Bears struggled against the Rutgers' defense, hitting just .135.
"Rutgers did what we thought they were going to do and we just have to grow from this game," said Kim. "They were very steady and patient, which we were against NJIT, and we just hurried things in this match."
Brown fell in an early hole as Rutgers took a 10-1 lead to start the game. The Bears tried to get into the set, closing the score to 181-3 after kills by Miller and Vanderlaan. After Rutgers earned a set point at 24-17, the Bears scored three points before the Scarlet Knights closed out the set.
Set two started slow again for Brown, falling behind 10-3 but three-straight points by the Bears made the score 10-6. From there another big run for Rutgers made the deficit 19-8 and Brown eventually dropped the set 25-13.
After the break, set three went back-and-forth with Brown down 8-6 after a kill by Ubamadu. Down by four, three-straight points from the Bears cut the lead to 11-10. A kill by Kate Danaher pulled brown to within one again before allowing Rutgers to score five-straight points to take control of the set.
Facing a 22-16 deficit, Brown got kills by Miller and Ubamadu as well as multiple Rutgers' errors to take a 23-22 lead. The Bears weren't able to keep up the momentum, losing the next three points to lose the match 25-23.
Brown returns back to the court for three matches next weekend at Hartford.
Zoe Ubamadu was named to the All-Tournament team after three strong performances in the middle for Brown.
Match 1 – vs NJIT
The Bears offense was prolific in the first match of the day, hitting .398 as a team. It is the best hitting percentage for Brown since hitting .417 against Farleigh Dickinson on Sept. 14, 2019.
"We started out with a couple of good swings and we felt like we had the ability to move the ball around," said head coach Ahem Kim. "Everyone hit really well. The middle got going and then everything else opens up. All of the hitters really stepped up for their setters."
Kate Sheire led the way for Brown with 12 kills and committed just one error, while hitting .579. Sophia Miller joined Sheire in double figures with 12 kills, hitting .389. Both Beau Vanderlaan (seven kills) and Zoe Ubamadu (six kills) hit over .400, hitting .462 and .417, respectively.
Down 6-3 in the first set, Brown took advantage of multiple NJIT errors and got kills by Vanderlaan, Sheire and Jilienne Widener to go on a 10-0 run. NJIT would get within four at one point but that was the closest the set would get as Brown took set one 25-17, hitting .357 in the first set.
The offense went to the next level in the second set, hitting .483 with 17 kills and just three errors. The set was back-and-forth with the score tied at 15 before three kills by Miller and one by Ubamadu helped Brown score five-straight to go up 20-15. Up 22-18, the Bears got two kills by Sheire to close out set two 25-18.
Up 7-6 in the third set, Brown picked up two kills from Miller and an ace by Vanderlaan to go up 10-6. Sheire added two kills as the defense earned two points with blocks by the duo of Ubamadu and Widener and Ubamadu and Sheire to score four more points. Another 3-0 late put Brown up 22-13 and after trading points, Vanderlaan closed out the match with a kill.
Match 2 – at Rutgers
The weekend closed with Brown falling in three sets to Rutgers. Beau Vanderlaan and Kayla Griebl each had eight kills to lead the team. Both Sophia Miller and Zoe Ubamadu added five kills. After hitting over .400 in the first match of the day, the Bears struggled against the Rutgers' defense, hitting just .135.
"Rutgers did what we thought they were going to do and we just have to grow from this game," said Kim. "They were very steady and patient, which we were against NJIT, and we just hurried things in this match."
Brown fell in an early hole as Rutgers took a 10-1 lead to start the game. The Bears tried to get into the set, closing the score to 181-3 after kills by Miller and Vanderlaan. After Rutgers earned a set point at 24-17, the Bears scored three points before the Scarlet Knights closed out the set.
Set two started slow again for Brown, falling behind 10-3 but three-straight points by the Bears made the score 10-6. From there another big run for Rutgers made the deficit 19-8 and Brown eventually dropped the set 25-13.
After the break, set three went back-and-forth with Brown down 8-6 after a kill by Ubamadu. Down by four, three-straight points from the Bears cut the lead to 11-10. A kill by Kate Danaher pulled brown to within one again before allowing Rutgers to score five-straight points to take control of the set.
Facing a 22-16 deficit, Brown got kills by Miller and Ubamadu as well as multiple Rutgers' errors to take a 23-22 lead. The Bears weren't able to keep up the momentum, losing the next three points to lose the match 25-23.
Brown returns back to the court for three matches next weekend at Hartford.
Team Stats
NJIT
BRN
Kills
30
45
Errors
15
10
Attempts
91
88
Hitting %
.165
.398
Points
39
54
Assists
27
41
Aces
2
4
Blocks
7
5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
12
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballRS
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
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