BOX SCORE: NJCU vs. Stevenson | CCNY vs. Stevenson (neutral court)
JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University senior libero CHRIS EDRA (Edison, NJ/J.P. Stevens) defended 21 digs to move into fifth place in program history with 950, but Stevenson University hit .444 in the third set and held off the Gothic Knights, 3-1 (25-19, 22-25, 25-17, 25-16) in a North East Collegiate Volleyball Association Metro Division match in the third contest of a tri-match on Sunday at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center on “Coach Charlie Brown Court.”
Stevenson kept on rolling with the win, improving to 12-1 overall and 4-1 in the league. NJCU falls to 5-5 (1-5 Metro). It has been a back-and-forth rivalry in the last decade and the all-time series is now even, 7-7.
Stevenson hit .258 as a team (50-18-124) while the Knights committed nearly two times as many attack errors (35) and was limited to a .022 attack percentage (38-35-137)—largely due to the Mustangs block, which combined for 15.5 team rejections in the match.
Edra's 21 digs mark his eighth career 20-dig performance in his 334th career set. He vaulted over two players into fifth place in school history in the defensive category. Luis Alvarado had 942 digs (1999-00, 03, 282 sets) while Hall-of-Famer Satsay Thongvichith collected 948 digs (450 sets, 1995-98)—both under the old sideout scoring system.
For NJCU, junior outside hitter KENNY LISK (Old Bridge, NJ/Old Bridge) reached double figures in kills for the fifth match in a row, finishing with a team-best 10 kills (10-7-29, .103). Sophomore outside hitter MICHAL KUCZA (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) had a team-high 11 kills and eight digs. Freshman opposite RICH BOYLE (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) added a six kills and two blocks while senior setter JORGE RODRIGUEZ (Havana, Cuba/Memorial) delivered 29 assists.
Reigning NECVA Conference Rookie of the Week Austin Jacoby (Sellersville, PA/Pennridge) posted a match-high 17 kills and hit .316 (17-5-38) with eight digs. Freshman opposite Jon Martin (Warwick, PA/Warwick) notched a double-double with 19 digs, 10 kills (10-5-26, .192) and six blocks.
Freshman outside hitter Kalani Soeda (Kaneohe, Hawaii/LeJardin Academy) tallied 12 kills (12-4-28), hit .286 and added four blocks and two aces. Junior middle hitter Josh Forbes (Erie, PA/McDowell) hit .667 with six kills and no errors on nine spikes and tallied five blocks. Freshman middle hitter Eddy Klepper (Carlisle, PA/Cumberland Valley) contributed a match-best eight blocks.
Also for Stevenson, sophomore setter Kyle Diller (Chambersburg, PA/Chambersburg) dished 46 assists with five digs, four blocks and two aces and freshman libero Adam Thatcher (Bel Air, MD/C. Milton Wright) provided 12 digs.
In the opening set, the Mustangs hit .367 with 13 kills (13-2-30) during a game with nine ties and three lead changes. Tied at 16-16, Soeda had a kill and Klepper combined for two blocks, with assistance from Soeda and Diller, for a 19-16 lead. Stevenson scored nine of the final 12 points for a 25-19 win.
NJCU took the second set to even the match at 1-1 as the Knights slammed 15 kills. The Knights never trailed in the game. Leading 15-14, the Knights opened a 21-15 lead, scoring six of seven points. Kucza had three kills during the run, including two straight for a 20-15 advantage. A kill by Lisk made it 24-20 before he buried a spike for set point.
But in the third set, the Mustangs opened up their attack with 16 kills and a .444 percentage (16-4-27). The Knights were limited to seven kills. There were five ties in the set but no lead changes as the visitors won 25-17. Stevenson totaled five of its blocks in the final set, forcing NJCU into 11 attack errors (5-11-31, -.194). The Mustangs jumped out to a 16-6 lead before easing to a 25-16 decision in the final game.
In the middle match of the tri-match, Stevenson defeated City College of New York, 3-0 (26-24, 25-15, 25-16) as the Mustangs served 13 aces and posted 8.5 blocks. Jacoby hit .440 with 12 kills (12-1-25) and four aces in the win.
NJCU returns to the court on Tuesday, February 15 at 6 p.m. with a road non-conference match at New York City College of Technology in Brooklyn, NY.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
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Team Stat Comparison
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NJCU
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STEVENSON
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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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.022 (38-25-137)
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.258 (50-18-124)
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Kills
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38
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50
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Assists
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35
|
48
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Service Aces
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0
|
4
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Digs
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52
|
53
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Total Blocks
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3.5
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15.5
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Points
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41.5
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69.5
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Team Stat Comparison
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CCNY
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STEVENSON
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Score
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0
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3
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Attack Percentage
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.000 (24-24-79)
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.218 (33-14-87)
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Kills
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24
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33
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Assists
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22
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32
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Service Aces
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4
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13
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Digs
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37
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26
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Total Blocks
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6.0
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8.5
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Points
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34.0
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54.5
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