BOX SCORE
PROVIDENCE, RI (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Junior outside hitter KENNY LISK (Old Bridge, NJ/Old Bridge) buried 11 kills and added four blocks as New Jersey City University defeated host Johnson and Wales University, 3-0 (25-20, 28-26, 26-24) in the opening match of JWU's Wildcats Invitational on Friday at the Harborside Recreation Center.
NJCU and JWU were meeting for the first time since February 21, 2004 and the first time ever on the Wildcats' home court. The Gothic Knights improved to 12-15 with the win and lead the all-time series, 3-1; JWU dropped to 7-10.
Lisk hit .364 overall with 11 kills (11-3-22) and four assisted blocks. Rookie opposite RICH BOYLE (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) planted 10 kills and hit .318 (10-3-22) with five digs. Sophomore outside hitter MICHAL KUCZA (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) added eight kills and nine digs.
Also for NJCU, senior setter JORGE RODRIGUEZ (Havana, Cuba/Memorial) delivered 33 assists and nine digs. Rookie middle hitter NATHAN JOUBERT (Union City, NJ/Union City) rejected six blocks and hit .500 with three kills (3-0-6). Sophomore middle hitter CORRADO DeVINCENZO (Bayonne, NJ/County Prep) had a .333 percentage with five kills (5-2-9) and stuffed two blocks. Senior libero CHRIS EDRA (Edison, NJ/J.P. Stevens) defended seven digs to increase his all-time program record to 1,147.
For the Wildcats, senior outside hitter Petar Yanakiev (Varna, Bulgaria) had a match-high 13 kills (13-4-33, .273) with seven digs and two aces and freshman outside hitter Alex Viera (Bay Shore, NY) landed 11 kills and eight digs.
Also for JWU, freshman outside hitter Shawn Kennedy (West Barnstable, MA) had eight kills, six digs and three blocks. Freshman middle blocker Dan Struebing (Coventry, RI) had six blocks. Freshman setter Gerard Daniels (Miami, FL) finished with 32 assists and three blocks.
There were 10 ties and five lead changes in the opening set. JWU led 16-14 midway through the game before NJCU reeled off the next four points for an 18-16 lead and assembled a 9-1 run for a 23-17 advantage. A combo block by Lisk and Joubert and a kill by Lisk gave NJCU the lead for good. A pair of bad sets by JWU, followed by a Joubert/Kucza block and a Kucza kill made it 22-17. Joubert floored a kill for 24-19 before NJCU won the set on an attack error.
In the second set there were six more ties and three lead changes as NJCU had 16 kills, led by Lisk who had an unbelievable effort with eight kills and no errors in nine swings for a mind-boggling .889 attack percentage with two blocks. After NJCU jumped out to a 22-15 lead, it looked like the Knights would cruise to a 2-0 lead in the match. But the Wildcats uncorked an 8-1 run to tie it at 23-23. NJCU had five attack errors during the run and JWU tied it when Kennedy and Struebing combined for back-to-back combined blocks. A JWU service error gave NJCU set point, but the Wildcats responded with kills by Kennedy and Viera for a 25-24 lead. Lisk answered with a kill to even it at 25-25 before Yanakiev gave the hosts back a one-point, 26-25 edge. However NJCU would score the final three points to take the set, 28-26 as Boyle and Lisk buried consecutive kills and Joubert used a solo block on Struebing to win the game.
In the final set NJCU hit .370 as a team and had 15 kills (15-5-27). JWU totaled 16 kills to once again force the set into extra points as there were 11 ties and three lead changes. The hosts led 18-15 on a kill by Yanakiev before NJCU began to make its late push. Trailing 19-17, Boyle, who had five kills and hit .667 in the set (5-1-6) and Kucza had winners to tie it at 19-19. After a kill by Lisk tied it again at 21-21, JWU gained a 23-21 lead on a kill by Viera and a Viera/Struebing block. But the Wildcats committed three straight attack errors as NJCU gained a 24-23 lead. On match point Yanakiev landed a kill to tie it at 24-24. NJCU took the match on a winner by Boyle and a DeVincenzo kill sealed it.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
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Team Stat Comparison
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NJCU
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JWU
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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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.242 (41-17-99)
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.162 (42-24-111)
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Kills
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41
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42
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Assists
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37
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39
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Service Aces
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2
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4
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Digs
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36
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36
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Total Blocks
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8.0
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7.0
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Points
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51.0
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53.0
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