ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, NY…Junior opposite
ROBERT GRIFFITHS (Edison, NJ/John P. Stevens) hammered 15 kills and made only three errors in 22 attempts for a .545 hitting percentage, but it wasn’t enough as the
New Jersey City University men’s volleyball team remained stuck on 249 all-time victories, and lost its North East Collegiate Volleyball Association Metro Division opener to Bard College, 3-0, by scores of 30-28, 30-23, 21-30, 30-26, late Monday at Stevenson Gymnasium.
It was the first meeting between the school’s since March 20, 1996, and Bard’s first victory over NJCU since February 23, 1990. The Gothic Knights (0-2, 0-1 NECVA Metro) entered the contest with a 10-match winning streak over the Raptors, and still lead the all-time series, 10-2. Bard is 2-0 on the season and 2-0 in the division since rejoining the NECVA this year.
Bard was led by a terrific performance from sophomore outside hitter Colin Safranek (Santa Cruz, CA/Mount Madonna) who recorded 28 kills and hit .327 (28-10-55), with seven blocks (four solo). Sophomore outside hitter Zachary Hamaker (Walnut Creek, CA/Las Lomas) added 17 kills (17-8-34, .265) and a match-high 18 digs, with two solo blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Vincent Lechowick (Los Angeles, CA/Oakwood School) added a .529 percentage with nine kills (9-0-17) and five blocks. Junior setter Dylan Cummins (Aptos, CA/Mount Madonna) delivered 53 assists.
In addition to the 15 kills,
Griffiths added five assists. Junior outside hitter
CARLOS DUCOS (Passaic, NJ/Passaic) collected 17 kills (17-7-31) and hit .323 with two service aces. Freshman outside hitter
KEVIN RODGERS (Clifton, NJ/Clifton) added 13 kills and a .321 percentage (13-4-28) with 10 digs and two blocks.
Junior setter
MAURICE WASHINGTON (Orlando, FL/Edgewater (FL)) delivered 46 assists and eight digs, while freshman middle blocker
DAVIE INGRAM (Newark, NJ/Science) tallied six kills and two blocks. NJCU lost despite hitting .357 as a team, as Bard rejected 13.0 blocks overall.
NJCU will next face SUNY-New Paltz on Wednesday, February 1 at 7 p.m. in New Paltz, NY.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
