New Jersey City University Athletics

 

JERSEY CITY, NJ…New Jersey City University men’s volleyball Hall of Famer Satsay Thongvichith was enshrined in the NJCU Athletics Hall of Fame on January 27 as the owner of nine prominent career records. One of those remarkable all-time records fell on Thursday night. Junior middle DAMON LaSALLE (Clifton, NJ/Clifton) rejected six balls, including five assisted blocks, and became NJCU’s all-time career leader with 270 and counting, as the Gothic Knights, ranked #14 in Division III, swept a non-conference match from Hunter College, 30-19, 30-27, 30-18,  at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center.

               

With the win, NJCU improves its winning percentage to .750 and is 15-5 overall. Hunter (15-11) had its five-match winning streak snapped in defeat. The Hawks still lead the all-time series, 11-8, but NJCU had won the last three meetings. NJCU improved to 10-2 at home this season.

               

After tying Thongvichith’s career block assists mark of 265 last night in a loss to Ramapo College, LaSalle broke the record midway through game one of the match, in just his 236^th career game. Thongvichith, the only men’s and women’s volleyball player in the NJCU Hall of Fame, had achieved the mark in 450 games over a four-year career from 1995-98. LaSalle is on pace to also break the total blocks record later this season.

               

In addition to the record-setting blocks, LaSalle had a team-high 12 kills in the match and hit .500 (12-3-18), with seven digs. He currently leads the 35-team North East Collegiate Volleyball Association in hitting percentage and ranks second in blocks per game.

               

NJCU hit .302 as a team (46-17-96), behind junior MAURICE WASHINGTON (Orlando, FL/Edgewater (FL), who distributed 34 assists, while adding nine digs, two blocks and two aces. Now with 137 career aces, he is three shy of moving into second place in school history, and is closing in on Thongvichith’s all-time record of 146. He also added five kills without an error in nine attempts (.556).

 

Freshman outside hitter KEVIN RODGERS (Clifton, NJ/Clifton) landed nine kills (9-2-16) and hit .438 overall, while freshman outside hitter THIAGO SIQUEIRA (Newark, NJ/Science) added seven kills. Junior opposite ROBERT GRIFFITHS (Edison, NJ/John P. Stevens) contributed six kills and eight digs.

 

A strong defensive effort by the Knights, which included 9.0 team blocks, limited the Hawks to .033 percentage hitting (33-29-120).

 

Hunter received a match-highs 13 kills and 13 digs from junior outside hitter Lukas Lyszak (Tychy, Poland/Leon Kruczkowski), but he hit negative for the match (13-14-43). Junior middle blocker Arthur Lebedin (Brooklyn, NY/Midwood) had eight kills (8-4-16) and hit .250. Junior setter Jozef Dubroja (Glendale, NY/Forest Hills) gave out 32 assists in defeat.

 

Game one was knotted at 10-10 and NJCU maintained a slim 14-13 lead before a 5-1 run capped by two LaSalle kills and a LaSalle/Siqueira combined block, which broke the career record, made it 19-13. The run extended to 11-3 as Rodgers buried a kill, for a 25-16 lead. NJCU won the frame by 11 points.

 

With NJCU leading 22-10 in game two, a 7-0 spurt by Hunter closed the score to 22-17, before LaSalle smashed a kill inside the 10-foot line. Hunter hung around, and a kill by Lyszak, followed by two NJCU errors, closed the gap to 28-26. However, a monster kill by LaSalle made it 29-26, and NJCU won the third game by three.

 

EDUARDO CAMPOS" src="/images/mvball/2006/3/16/02-02-06%20Eduardo%20Campos%207.jpg" width=150 align=left border=0>The third game was also tied 10-10, and NJCU maintained a two-point, 14-12 margin. Rookie defensive specialist EDUARDO CAMPOS (Newark, NJ/Science) came off the bench to record his first career ace, and his solid serving paced NJCU to six consecutive points and a 20-12 cushion. LaSalle had a solo block and two kills during the run. The Knights increased the lead to 24-15 on a combined block by Washington/LaSalle, a Washington winner, and block assists by Washington and rookie opposite BRIAN BATRES (Clifton, NJ/Clifton), before taking the final game by 12 points.

 

NJCU returns to action on Sunday, March 19 at 12 p.m. with a home NECVA Metro Division contest against Yeshiva University. NJCU is 17-0 all-time against Yeshiva with all victories by sweeps.