BOX SCORE
GAME PROGRAM/NOTES
JERSEY CITY, NJ (www.NJCUGothicKnights.com)...Chances are, freshman middle blocker CASEY BLAKE (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) will fondly remember his first collegiate home volleyball match at New Jersey City University. The rookie led a trio of sensational freshman by posting a staggering .750 hitting percentage, slamming 12 kills without an error in 16 attempts, while rejecting nine blocks (eight assisted) as the Gothic Knights opened their 14-match home schedule with a 3-1 win over Brooklyn College, 30-13, 30-13, 25-30, 30-10, in a non-conference match on Thursday night at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center on “Coach Charlie Brown Court.”
NJCU, which is a perfect 18-0 all-time against Brooklyn, improves to 2-1 on the year. Brooklyn (0-1) was playing its first match of the season. NJCU hit .243 overall as a team (54-26-115) and had more than three times the number of kills that Brooklyn did—a 54-17 margin.
NJCU, which has posted double figures in blocks in every match this season and now has 34.0 total stuffs in 10 sets, rejected Brooklyn 11 times. The frustrated Bulldogs hit -.081 (17-24-86). In the first set, NJCU stuffed Brooklyn seven times alone.
NJCU was also ferocious on attack in the second and fourth sets, hitting .424 (17-3-33) and .417 (14-4-24) in those two games, respectively.
Blake, in nine sets this year, has posted a remarkable .676 hitting percentage (27-2-37), among the early national leaders. He also has 18 blocks, for a 2.00 per set average.
Freshman outside hitter JOSE MATTA (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Union Hill) had the most extensive playing time so far this year and made a case for more time, uncorking a match-best 14 kills and a .450 hitting percentage (14-5-20), while a team-high eight digs, and three aces.
Freshman outside hitter MICHAL KUCZA (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) collected 10 kills and made just one error in 20 swings for a .450 hitting rate, adding two blocks.
NJCU's three standout rookies combined for 36 of the club's 54 kills. Junior setter JORGE RODRIGUEZ (Havana, Cuba/Memorial), who became the eighth player in school history to record 1,000 career assists in NJCU's loss at Baruch College on January 26, delivered 23 assists in 53 attempts for a .434 percentage. Senior setter FELIPE SIQUEIRA (Newark, NJ/Science) had 21 assists in 51 tries for a .412 accuracy rate, and added two blocks.
Also for NJCU sophomore opposite AUSTIN BRYANT (Virginia Beach, VA/Kempsville) had six service aces and sophomore outside hitter KENNY LISK (Old Bridge, NJ/Old Bridge) provided four blocks and two aces. All 14 players on the roster saw considerable time in the match.
Brooklyn's top player was freshman opposite Rogelio Griffith (Brooklyn, NY/William E. Grady), who hit .467 (9-2-15) with nine of the team's 17 winners. Outside of his play, the remainder of the lineup had a hitting line of eight kills, 22 errors, 71 attempts (-.197). In defeat, freshman setter Guillermo Melosevich (Belleville, NJ/East Side) finished with 13 assists, six digs and four aces.
In the opening set, NJCU led 6-5 before unleashing a 14-1 run to seize a 20-6 cushion, before cruising to victory. Blake hit a perfect 4-for-4 and had five blocks in the set while Kucza hit .667 with four winners (4-0-6). Lisk had all four of his blocks in the game.
NJCU scored 20 of its 30 points in the second set by virtue of its 17 kills and three blocks. Blake hit .556 in the frame with five kills (5-0-9), and three blocks, while Matta struck for a .667 percentage and seven kills (7-1-9). Leading 14-10, NJCU scored six consecutive points for a 20-10 margin, and increased that run to 10-1, claiming a 24-11 margin, en route to another 30-13 decision.
In the third set, NJCU's reserves got a chance to take the court, but couldn't close out the match. Tied at 23-23, Brooklyn scored five of the final six points—all on NJCU attack, setting or service errors—to force a fourth game. Matta did have seven kills for NJCU in the third set; Griffith added a line of 4-0-5 for a .800 attack rate for the visitors.
The fourth set was all NJCU. The Knights surged out to an 18-3 lead and were never challenged. Kucza hit .714 in the set with five winners (5-0-7) while Blake was 3-for-3.
NJCU visits SUNY New Paltz on Friday, January 29 at 7 p.m. for the first North East Collegiate Volleyball Association Metro Division match of the year. Brooklyn visits New York City College of Technology in a CUNYAC Division match on February 2 at 6 p.m.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
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Team Stat Comparison
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NJCU
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BROOKLYN
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Score
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3
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0
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Attack Percentage
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.243 (54-26-115)
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-.081 (17-24-86)
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Kills
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54
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17
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Assists
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48
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16
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Service Aces
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15
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6
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Digs
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35
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28
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Total Blocks
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11.0
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3.0
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Points
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80.0
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26.0
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