New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score BOX SCORE

NEWARK, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University freshman outside hitter BESMIR ARSLANI (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley) collected a match high in kills for the fifth consecutive outing to open his collegiate career, but Division I New Jersey Institute of Technology was too strong for the Gothic Knights, as the Highlanders hit a scintillating .508 and landed 11 aces, sweeping the first meeting between the schools since 1997, 3-0 (25-10, 25-18, 25-13) in non-conference men's volleyball action on Tuesday night Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.
 
NJIT improved to 4-3 with the win; the Knights (2-3) drop their third straight against strong competition after a 2-0 start. It was the first meeting between the schools since February 6, 1997; NJIT leads the all-time series, 8-0.
 
NJIT slammed 36 kills and made only five attack errors in 61 attempts while landing 11 aces versus just nine service errors. Meanwhile, NJCU hit .072 with 22 kills (22-17-69) and five aces.
 
Arslani finished with his lowest kill total of his career, but his 11 winners were still five more than any other player as the reigning Skyline Conference Rookie of the Week has pounded 76 kills through five matches and 17 sets for a 4.47 kills per set clip. He had half of NJCU's total kills, hitting .160 (11-7-25) with three aces and four digs.
NJCU junior setter JUSTIN BEAUMONT (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) dished 15 assists with six digs and two blocks (one solo) before switching to right side late in the third set, finishing with five kills (5-2-16, .188). NJCU played without starting middle blocker PATRYK RUSZNICA (Cieszyn, Poland/Bayonne), who missed the match with an illness.
 
The Highlanders played 13 members of its roster in the win. Freshman outside hitter TJ Jurko (Weston, FL) had a team-high six kills and hit .455 (6-1-11) in two sets. Junior outside Andrei Stoyanow (Sao Paulo, Brazil) only played the third set but had a fantastic effort, hitting .556 with five kills and no errors (nine swings), adding four aces and four digs.
 
Senior right side Adam Gustafson (Monee, IL) and 6-foot-8 junior outside hitter Kevin Van Oss (Dayton, OH) each played two games and had an identical line of five kills in six attempts (no errors) for an outstanding .833 percentage; Van Oss also floored three aces and two blocks.
 
Also for NJIT, freshman setter Zak Robben (St. Louis, MO) and junior setter Matthew Lui (Aiea, HI) split time, playing parts of two sets. Robben had 16 assists while Lui chipped in 14 assists and three blocks (one solo). Sophomore right side Herman Kantushov (Qiryat, Ono) hit .429 with four kills (4-1-7).
 
In the opening set, NJIT came out demonstrating its power in set one, hammering its way to a .667 attack percentage—12 kills in 18 swings without an error. NJCU was limited to a -.059 attack rate (5-6-17). Gustafson was perfect with four kills in four swings and Jurko hit .571 with four kills and no errors (4-0-7). Kantushov and Van Oss each landed two kills in three swings. Robben had nine assists for NJIT. Arslani had three of NJCU's five kills in the set.
 
NJCU, clearly nervous in the opening game, played a more calm second set and it showed. While NJIT won, 25-18 and hit .476 in the period (13-3-21) with its starters on the floor, NJCU slammed 12 kills—six by Arslani who hit .364 in the period (6-2-11). The Knights increased their team attack percentage to .200 (12-7- 25). Van Oss was a perfect 3-for-3 on attack for NJIT.
 
NJCU stayed competitive throughout the second set and took its first lead of the night (7-6) on a solo block by Beaumont. Trailing 14-12, the Knights tied it again on an Arslani kill and an ace by freshman opposite ANGEL MARTINEZ (Pleasantville, NJ/Pleasantville), who landed two in the match. The Knights against tied it at 15-15 before NJIT scored the next four points—a kill by Van Oss, back-to-back blocks by Van Oss and Lui, and a solo rejection by Lui, for a 19-15 lead. Two more attack errors by NJCU increased the lead to 22-16 before the hosts won by seven.
 
NJIT's reserves played most of the third set and showed they were just as dangerous, hitting .409 with 11 kills (11-2-22) and five aces. NJCU had five kills (.037, 5-4-27). The Highlanders jumped out to a commanding 11-2 lead, led by Stoyanow, who demonstrated his jump serving prowess and finesse, with four aces in five serves, all on different parts of the court. Trailing 14-4, NJCU drew closer when Arslani, who served six in a row, landed three consecutive aces after an NJCU block and Beaumont kill, and the Knights cut the lead to 14-9. That was as close as the visitors could get as NJIT quickly increased the margin to 22-11 before prevailing by 12 points; Stoyanow landed a pair of kills to help complete the sweep.
 
NJCU will be idle for eight days before returning to action on Wednesday, February 8 at 7 p.m. against long-time rival Ramapo College in a Skyline Conference match at the Bradley Center in Mahwah, NJ. RCNJ won the first meeting on January 28, 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-22).