GLASSBORO, NJ -- Rowan forced a fifth and deciding set but ultimately fell to Kean, 3-2, (25-23, 25-21, 21-25, 28-30, 18-16) in a wild New Jersey Athletic Conference tilt Tuesday night at Esbjornson Gymnasium.

The Profs trailed 2-0 before taking the third set and outlasting the Cougars in the fourth as the two teams battled through seven ties and four lead changes. For the game Rowan and Kean swapped leads 10 times and were deadlocked on 28 occasions.

Maya Iovacchini was one of four Profs in double-figure kills as the senior posted a career high 17, including a total of 11 in the final two sets. Hutton Cordrey added 15 kills, Jena Kaul with 14, and Ava Best with 11 respectively.

As a team, Rowan recorded 68 kills in hitting .225 (68-27-182) for the night, but the team surrendered 11 service errors and 17 aces to the Cougars.

Anny Beckemeyer and Cayley Morrison led Kean with 13 kills each. Beckemeyer added a match-high five aces.

After a timeout and trailing, 10-5, in the first set, the Profs responded with five-straight points to force the Cougars to call a timeout. Rowan used another five-point swing after another timeout to go up 20-18. Now at 23-22 in favor of the home team, the Cougars netted three points in a row capped with a block from Beckemeyer and Juloa Vacca to win, 25-23.

In the second set, Kean built an early 11-8 lead thanks to a 9-4 spurt. Now with a 23-17 Kean score, Rowan looked climb back in it with four points in a row but would fall behind two sets to none.

Down 11-4 in the third set, the Profs rolled out a 7-2 run to force a Kean timeout. Kaul's two kills were part of a four-point swing to break a 21-21 tie and cut into the deficit.

Tied at 23-23 in the fourth set, the two teams traded punches as the back-and-forth was ended with two points in a row by Rowan to turn things over to a fifth set.

Kean used and ace and took advantage of three Rowan attack errors to put the Cougars up 5-1, forcing a Rowan timeout. The Profs gave it one last push, outscoring the visitors, 8-3, to get it to a 14-14 tie. However, the Cougars clinched it, netting the final two points in breaking a 16-16 score.

Vanessa Hutchinson compiled 18 digs while Kaul collected 11. Kaul (14 kills/11 digs) and Brooke Adams (season-high 53 assists/12 digs) recorded double-doubles.

Rowan is right back at on Thursday in a NJAC matchup at Rutgers-Camden starting at 7 p.m.