UNION, N.J. (March 16, 2021) – With a home match for the upcoming playoffs already secured and playing without one of its top players, the Rutgers University-Camden volleyball team still had a post-season seeding and several milestones on the line here Tuesday in its final regular-season match of the year.
 
Although the Scarlet Raptors (2-3 overall/2-3 NJAC) were swept by Kean University, 3-0, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference match, they will open the NJAC tournament with a 7 p.m. home match Thursday. Rutgers-Camden will be the fourth seed in the six-team NJAC playoffs and will entertain fifth seed New Jersey City University, a team the Raptors swept in Jersey City on March 9. Kean (3-2/3-2 NJAC), which earned the third seed in the NJAC playoffs, will host sixth-seeded William Paterson University in a quarterfinal match Thursday.
 
Top-seeded Stockton University and No. 2 seed Montclair State have byes into the NJAC semifinals and will host matches on March 23.

NJAC volleyball bracket
 
Although Kean defeated Rutgers-Camden, 25-21, 25-17 and 25-20, the Raptors had a big day with individual milestones, led by junior setter Brinn Hassan. Hassan picked up her 1,000th career assist in the second set on a kill by junior Delaney Kolb and she finished the night with 29 assists, pushing her career total to 1,012. She ranks fourth on the program's career list and is only 28 behind third-place Michelle Dixon (2011-13).
 
Hassan also collected two assists to push her career total past the century mark to 101. She is 12th on that list, five behind 11th-place Morgan Mulligan (2016-19).
 
Junior libero Morgan Fox also passed a career milestone, vaulting over 700 career digs with 17 on the night. She now has 701 digs, good for 10th place on the career list, and needs only two to tie Cortnee Wilkerson (2013, 2015-17) for ninth place.
 
Despite playing without sidelined junior middle hitter Devyn Cobb, the team leader in hitting (.418) and blocks (10), Rutgers-Camden gave Kean a tough battle. The two teams were tied four times in the opening set, the last at 8-8, before the Cougars ran off the next five points. They increased their lead to 21-12 before the Scarlet Raptors mounted a rally. Rutgers-Camden pulled to within 23-21 before Kean closed out its win with the last two points. Hassan collected 13 assists in the first set for the Raptors.
 
Kean led most of the second set, although Rutgers-Camden closed its deficit to 17-15 before the Cougars scored eight of the next 10 points to clinch the win. Kean broke a 16-16 tie on its way to the third-set win.
 
In addition to Hassan and Fox, the Scarlet Raptors received 10 kills from freshman outside hitter Erica Nebrich, who hit .391 and added three service aces. Freshman middle hitter Isabella Choice notched eight kills and Kolb had seven kills and hit .316. Junior defensive specialist Haley Novak had four kills, seven digs and one ace.
 
Kean sophomore middle hitter Kayla Thornton had nine kills, hit .727 and added two block assists. Junior libero Amanda DeLio notched 12 digs and four aces, while freshman setter Kylie Brua led the Cougars with 19 assists. Senior setter Britni Jaskot added 15 assists.