BOX SCORE
PROVIDENCE, RI (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | In a match to decide the second-place team at the 2011 Wildcats Invitational, Lasell College scored the final four points of the fifth set as the Lasers outlasted New Jersey City University, 3-2 (22-25, 27-25, 25-15, 11-25, 15-11) on Saturday afternoon at the Harborside Recreation Center.
In the first-ever meeting between Lasell (17-13) and NJCU (13-17), the Lasers finished the tournament with a 3-1 record to claim second place. NJCU was third overall in the five-team field with a 2-2 ledger.
Junior outside hitter KENNY LISK (Old Bridge, NJ/Old Bridge) had 38 kills in four matches during the weekend and was selected to the All-Tournament Team.
In defeat, sophomore outside hitter MICHAL KUCZA (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) had a solid offensive showing with 17 kills and only three errors on 34 attacks for a .412 hitting percentage. He added seven digs. Lisk added nine kills and seven digs.
Senior setter JORGE RODRIGUEZ (Havana, Cuba/Memorial) handed out 35 assists and nine digs and had four kills (.444, 4-0-9) and two blocks. Senior WILTON JIMENEZ (Passaic, NJ/Passaic) reached double figures in digs for only the second time in his career and defended a career-best 13 digs. Senior CHRIS EDRA (Edison, NJ/J.P. Stevens) increased his all-time program record to 1,162 digs with seven in the match, adding five kills and two blocks.
Rookie opposite RICH BOYLE (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne), sophomore middle hitter CORRADO DeVINCENZO (Bayonne, NJ/County Prep) and rookie middle hitter NATHAN JOUBERT (Union City, NJ/Union City) combined for 10 blocks.
For Lasell, sophomore outside hitter Spencer Parker (Newington, CT) had a team-high 17 kills and hit .316 (17-5-38) and finished with a double-double of 14 digs and four blocks. Freshman setter Andrew Glenn (Westport, CT), an All-Tournament Team selection, also had a double-double with 41 assists and 12 digs.
Sophomore outside hitter Harry Strobel (Westport, CT) finished with 12 kills and four blocks. Senior middle hitter Micah Aiu (Honolulu, HI) and senior middle hitter Mike Harrington (Billerica, MA) combined for 15 kills and nine blocks as the Lasers rejected 13.5 team blocks in the win. Aiu added a .462 hitting percentage (8-2-13).
NJCU, which fell to 1-3 in five-set matches this year, had an opportunity to gain a 2-0 lead in the match. NJCU hit .280 in the opening set with 11 kills and jumped out to an early 18-11 lead. Kucza hit .667 in the set with five kills (5-1-6). NJCU increased the lead to 24-18. Parker, who hit .500 in the set with seven kills, tried to get the Lasers back into it late, cutting it to 24-22 with a pair of kills, before NJCU took the game, 25-22.
There were 10 ties and six lead changes in the second set. Parker had six kills and Kucza hit .400 with four kills for the Knights. NJCU led for much of the period, including an 18-15 advantage before Lasell reeled off four straight points, including a pair of kills by Parker, before a shot from Harrington put the Lasers in front, 19-18. Kucza tied it at 19-19 but committed a service error. A Lasell error tied it at 20-20. Parker and Boyle traded kills for a 21-21 tie. Lasell regained a 23-21 lead on an NJCU service error and a block. NJCU countered with three straight points, scoring twice on Lasell errors before a winner by Boyle gave NJCU set point, 24-23. With NJCU looking at a potential 2-0 lead in the match, Aiu tied it at 24-24 and an error by the Knights gave Lasell a one-point edge. Rodriguez had a kill from the setting position to tie it at 25-25, but Strobel won the game with back-to-back kills for a 27-25 final.
Lasell dominated the third set, winning by 10 points, (25-15) for a 2-1 lead in the match. NJCU hit -.261 in the set as the Lasers stuffed four blocks in the period.
NJCU answered with an overwhelming fourth set, pounding out a .444 team attack percentage with 13 kills and one error (27 attempts). Kucza hit .625 with five kills and no errors in the set. Lisk added four kills and Edra landed three kills in four attempts. NJCU never trailed in the set but only led 13-10 before uncorking a 12-1 run to capture the game. Rodriguez served nine straight points during the period. NJCU had seven kills and a block to account for its final eight points.
The match came down to the decisive fifth set. NJCU had eight kills in the final period but committed five attack errors. Lasell had a .417 percentage in the period (7-2-12). The Lasers led early, including 6-3 on a triple block, but NJCU tied it at 8-8 on kills by Rodriguez and Kucza and took a one-point lead when the Lasers made an attack error. NJCU committed a service error to tie it at 9-9 before Edra floored a kill for a 10-9 lead. Harrington tied it at 10-10. Lasell went up by one with a block before Edra evened it at 11-11 with another kill. With four points standing between Lasell and the win, Parker and Harrington gave the Lasers a 13-11 margin before NJCU committed two errors to account for the final points.
NJCU will conclude its 2011 season on Saturday, March 26 at 2 p.m. when it travels to Harrisonburg, VA for a North East Collegiate Volleyball Association Metro Division match against Eastern Mennonite University. It will be NJCU's first-ever match at EMU.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
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Team Stat Comparison
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NJCU
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LASELL
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Score
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2
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3
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Attack Percentage
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.133 (45-27-135)
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.189 (51-27-127)
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Kills
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45
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51
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Assists
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41
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47
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Service Aces
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7
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2
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Digs
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44
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48
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Total Blocks
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7.0
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13.5
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Points
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59.0
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66.5
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2011 WILDCATS INVITATIONAL (AT JOHNSON & WALES) FINAL STANDINGS
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PLACE
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SCHOOL
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RECORD (W-L)
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1
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Stevenson University
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4-0
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2
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Lasell College
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3-1
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3
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New Jersey City University
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2-2
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4
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Johnson and Wales University
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1-3
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5
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City College of New York
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0-4
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ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
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Kalani Soeda (Stevenson)
Kyle Diller (Stevenson)
Shawn Kennedy (Johnson & Wales)
Andrew Glenn (Lasell)
Matthew Ng (City College of New York)
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