BOX SCORE
GAME NOTES/PROGRAM
JERSEY CITY, NJ (www.NJCUGothicKnights.com)...SUNY New Paltz had five players reach double figures in kills and hit .338 as a team and despite a resilient effort in the opening set by New Jersey City University, outlasted the Gothic Knights, 3-1 (31-33, 30-23, 30-18, 30-18) in a non-conference men's volleyball match on Wednesday night at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center on “Coach Charlie Brown Court.”
New Paltz (17-14) had a 74-43 edge in kills in the match. NJCU falls to 13-8 overall. While the two schools are both North East Collegiate Volleyball Association Metro Division opponents, it was a non-conference match as New Paltz defeated NJCU earlier in the season in league play [January 29], also by a 3-1 final, in a match the Hawks hit a comparable .350 as a team. NP has won the last 11 meetings between the divisional opponents, and leads the all-time series, 16-2.
In defeat for NJCU, sophomore opposite AUSTIN BRYANT (Virginia Beach, VA/Kempsville) collected 14 kills (14-5-34, .265) and had two blocks while sophomore outside hitter KENNY LISK (Old Bridge, NJ/Old Bridge) contributed 11 kills and three blocks. Two-time NECVA Metro Rookie of the Week, freshman outside hitter JOSE MATTA (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Union Hill), had six kills, six digs and two blocks.
Also for the hosts, junior setter JORGE RODRIGUEZ (Havana, Cuba/Memorial) provided 20 assists while senior setter FELIPE SIQUEIRA (Newark, NJ/Science) had 17 assists. Junior libero CHRIS EDRA (Edison, NJ/J.P. Stevens) defended eight digs.
New Paltz was led by 6-foot-8 sophomore middle hitter Kevin Stross (Port Washington, NY/Schieiber) who demonstrated why he is among the most accurate hitters in the nation. He hit .533 with 18 kills (18-2-30) and five blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Mike Van Tyne (Rochester, NY/Rush-Henrietta) had 15 kills, five service aces and four blocks while hitting .303 (15-5-33). Junior setter Andrew Cassius (Brooklyn, NY/Midwood) paced the Hawks with a .500 setting percentage, delivering 66 assists and 12 digs.
Also for NP, freshman outside hitter Sean Foley (Thousand Oaks, CA) had 14 kills, 10 digs and three aces for a double-double, hitting .357 (14-4-28). Junior 6-foot-7 middle blocker Jonathan Van Dyke (Hopewell Junction, NY) had 13 kills, hit .500 (13-3-20) and four blocks while senior 6-foot-6 opposite Jake Moore (Cortland, Manor, NY) hit .471 with 11 winners (11-3-17). Senior libero Michael Fink (Rochester, NY) chipped in nine digs.
In a back-and-forth opening set that featured 10 ties, NP had 22 kills and hit .311 and the Knights added 15 kills for a .278 percentage. NJCU led from the start, opening an early 12-6 edge. A triple block by Bryant, Matta and freshman middle blocker CASEY BLAKE (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) maintained a 16-13 lead but New Paltz kept it close in what was a two or three-point lead for the Knights much of the way. After a kill by Bryant made it 21-19, Stross slammed a kill and Foley added a winner from the backrow to force a 21-21 tie. Moore and Bryant traded kills, as did Moore and Edra for a 23-23 deadlock; Edra's came on an aggressive over ball from the back line. An NJCU attack error, followed by a Van Dyke/Van Tyne block gave the Hawks their first lead, 25-24. Blake's tip kill tied it.
Van Dyke and Bryant collected kills for a 26-26 game before a kill by Moore after an NJCU attack error gave the visitors a two-point, 28-26 lead. The Knights would not quit, tying it at 28-28 when Lisk sliced a winner between two blockers, and NP committed a setting miscue. Stross made it set point before the frame was tied at 29-29 on a Hawk error. NJCU regained a 30-29 lead when Moore was rejected by Matta and Blake, but Moore responded with a kill for 30-30 and Van Dyke gave the Hawks set point with another winner. Finally, Bryant evened it at 31-31 with a kill, NP committed an attack error to put NJCU back in front, and Bryant slugged a backrow kill for set point, with the Knights victorious, 33-31.
But NJCU would not lead again the remainder of the match. NJCU had a 10-8 advantage in kills in the second set and the Hawks were limited to a .000 hitting line in the game. NP led 15-11 before NJCU scored five of the next six points for a 16-16 tie. That's when the Hawks took advantage with their serve. Van Tyne uncorked five consecutive service aces to build a 24-17 lead and the visitors tied the match at 1-1.
In the third set, New Paltz gained leads of 6-1 and 15-9, before building a 23-13 margin, winning by 12. The visitors hit .400 in the set (18-4-35) while the Knights were held to -.029. In the fourth set, the Hawks collected 24 of their 30 points on kills and hit .583 (24-3-36) to close the contest.
NJCU is back in action on Friday, March 19 at 7 p.m. when it hosts Lehman College in a non-conference match. New Paltz is off until hosting College of Mount Saint Vincent in a NECVA Metro match on March 24.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
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Team Stat Comparison
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NJCU
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NEW PALTZ
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Score
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1
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3
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Attack Percentage
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.132 (43-26-129)
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.338 (74-24-148)
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Kills
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43
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74
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Assists
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41
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69
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Service Aces
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1
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8
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Digs
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41
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54
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Total Blocks
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8.5
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9.5
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Points
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52.5
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91.5
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