New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score BOX SCORE
GAME PROGRAM/NOTES
GOTHIC KNIGHT INSIGHTS (post-game interviews)



JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Freshman outside hitter BESMIR ARSLANI (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley) slammed a match-high 14 kills and combined with senior outside hitter KENNY LISK (Old Bridge, NJ/Old Bridge) and rookie middle hitter PATRYK RUSZNICA (Cieszyn, Poland/Bayonne) for 32 of New Jersey City University's 35 total kills as the Gothic Knights won their 2012 home opener, sweeping a non-conference match from York College (NY), 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-15) on Wednesday night on “Coach Charlie Brown Court” at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center.
 
NJCU improved to 2-0, thanks in part of the play of junior setter JUSTIN BEAUMONT (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne), who posted a .468 set percentage with 29 assists, five service aces and two blocks. York (0-1) was playing its first match of the season. NJCU leads the all-time series, 17-5, and has won 14 consecutive meetings between the schools since 1996.
 
NJCU hit .253 as a team with 35 kills (35-16-75) and limited the Cardinals to -.063 hitting with 16 kills and 20 errors (63 attacks). The Knights landed 11 aces but gave away points with 18 service errors after committing 19 in its season opening win on Monday at NYU-Poly.
 
Arslani slammed 14 kills for the second straight match to open his career. The two-time All-Stater hit .231 (14-8-26) with five digs and three aces.
 
Lisk sizzled with a match-best .500 attack percentage, hammering down nine kills with just one error (16 attempts). Rusznica hit .333 with nine kills (9-4-15).
 
Sophomore middle blocker NATHAN JOUBERT (Union City, NJ/Union City) had two blocks and freshman opposite ANGEL MARTINEZ (Pleasantville, NJ/Pleasantville) landed two aces.
 
York freshman outside hitter Edner Geffard (Arcahaie, Haiti) led the visitors with six kills, seven digs and three aces but hit -.087 (6-8-23). Senior outside hitter Jhonnattan Fernandez (Bronx, NY) had five blocks, including two solo stuffs. Senior setter Kenan Kajtezovic (Velkaklavusa, Bosnia) added 10 assists.
 
NJCU never trailed in the opening set and had an 11-2 margin in kills in the period. Leading 8-6, NJCU scored eight of the next nine points and claimed a 16-7 cushion after a kill by Lisk, back-to-back winners by Rusznica and a Beaumont solo block. The lead increased to 20-12 on an Arslani kill before York took advantage of six consecutive NJCU errors, including attack errors on four of the next five plays, to close within 20-18. NJCU responded by scoring the final five points of the game, with two Arslani kills and a pair of vicious aces by Martinez, including one on set point.  The Knights committed seven attack errors in the period.
 
Arslani took off in the second set, hitting .556 with six kills (6-1-9) while Lisk and Rusznica each floored four shots. NJCU had a 15-9 advantage in kills in the set, but were challenged throughout the period by the Cardinals. York forced 14 ties in the game and there were two lead changes.
 
NJCU held a slim lead for much of the first half of the game before York tied it at 15-15. Each time York tied it, NJCU scored the next point, until an ace by Geffard gave York its only lead of the match, 18-17. NJCU scored the next two points, including a kill by Rusznica off a great lunging dig by Beaumont, before an error tied it at 19-19. The clubs traded four more ties at 20, 21, 22 and 23. The Cardinals got a break at 21-21 when a dig by their libero, sophomore Terrence Sutton (Brooklyn, NY) cleared the net and fell for a kill. Arslani gave NJCU a 23-22 lead when he blasted a line shot before Kajtezovic had an aggressive dump for the 23-23 equalizer. But York handed NJCU the final two points of the set on back-to-back attack errors by Geffard as NJCU hung on for the 25-23 win. The Knights hit .303 in the period.
 
In the third set, NJCU never trailed and jumped out to a 6-0 lead, as Beaumont landed three aces during the opening stretch. York rallied and scored the next five points, and managed to keep it close. NJCU built a 16-9 edge before York cut that lead to 16-12. But the Knights scored nine of the final 12 points, using two different aces, and a pair of Arslani kills to claim the match, including the winner on match point.
 
NJCU will host the first-ever Skyline Conference Quad Match on Saturday, January 28, with Kean University, Polytechnic Institute of New York University and Ramapo College participating. NJCU plays Kean at 12 p.m., followed by Ramapo at 2 p.m. Poly plays Ramapo at 12 p.m. and Kean at 2 p.m. York is off until Monday, January 30 when it visits NYU-Poly.