New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score BOX SCORE

PURCHASE, NY (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Freshman middle blocker PATRYK RUSZNICA (Cieszyn, Poland/Bayonne) hammered a career-high 14 kills—three more than the entire opposing Purchase College team—and hit .556 as the New Jersey City University men's volleyball team amassed a .403 hitting percentage and snapped a five-match losing streak with a 54-minute sweep of the Panthers, 3-0 (25-9, 25-10, 25-17) in the opening match of a Skyline Conference Quad meet on Sunday morning at the Purchase College Gym.
 
NJCU (3-5, 2-3 Skyline) hit .403 with 39 kills and just 12 errors in 67 attempts and led for the entire second and third sets. The Panthers (1-4, 0-4 Skyline) were limited to a negative percentage in each period and hit -.136 for the match with 11 kills (11-19-59).
 
Rusznica, whose previous career high was nine kills against York College (NY) on January 25, planted his first double-digit kills effort with a line of 14-4-18 and added five blocks (four assisted), to tie his career best mark for rejections. After having two kills in three swings in the first set, he was a perfect 6-for-6 in the second period and hit .333 with six kills (6-3-9) in the final game.
 
For the first time in eight matches, two-time Skyline Conference Rookie of the Week BESMIR ARSLANI (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley) did not reach double figures in kills or lead NJCU in the category, but he was one of five players to smash at least five kills in the match. Arslani slammed six kills and hit .364 (6-2-11) in just two sets of action.
 
Rookie opposite ANGEL MARTINEZ (Pleasantville, NJ/Pleasantville) had an impressive .833 attack performance with five kills (no errors) in six attempts, while adding four assists, three service aces and three blocks in just two sets. Senior outside hitter KENNY LISK (Old Bridge, NJ/Old Bridge) hit .556 with five kills and no errors in nine swings to go along with six digs, three aces and two blocks (one solo).
 
Also for NJCU, junior opposite and setter JUSTIN BEAUMONT (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) delivered 19 assists and a .487 set percentage, and offensively chalked up five kills and a .333 accuracy rate (5-2-9). His all-around effort included a match-high four aces and five digs. Junior setter GARY PRESTON, JR. (North East MD/Rising Sun (MD)) finished with nine assists.
 
No players for Purchase had more than three kills or three digs and the Knights landed a combined 12 aces and 8.0 total blocks in the win.
 
NJCU hit .409 in the first set with 12 kills and just three errors on 22 swings. Leading 11-6, the Knights scored 14 of the final 18 points, largely behind the serving of Beaumont and Lisk.
 
NJCU scored the first eight points in game two and surged to a 12-1 lead before winning by 15. The Knights hit a sensational .684 as a team in the period, smashing 15 kills and only two errors in 19 attempts, led by Rusznica's 6-for-6 line. NJCU capped the win by posting a 12-3 differential in kills in the third set and despite its hitting percentage dipping to .192, never trailed in the period as the Gothic Knight reserves polished off the win.