New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score BOX SCORE

HOBOKEN, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | No program in Division III men's volleyball history has enjoyed more perennial success than Juniata College and for the first time New Jersey City University challenged the Eagles on Saturday in the opening contest of a non-conference tri-match hosted by Stevens Institute of Technology. NJCU gave #4 ranked Juniata all it could handle in the opening set before the Eagles' depth took over in the second and third period as Juniata swept the Gothic Knights, 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-15) at Canavan Arena.
 
Juniata, ranked No. 4 in the latest America Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III Men's Top 15 Poll, improved to 9-5 with the victory. Stevens had edged Juniata in an earlier match on Saturday, 3-2. The Eagles already own an impressive 3-2 victory over Division I George Mason University this season and lost at Division I Stanford University, but won a set, losing 3-1. Juniata has won six Molten Division III men's volleyball national championships (1998, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009), which was the precursor to the NCAA Division III Tournament slated to start this spring.
 
Meanwhile, NJCU had its three-match winning streak snapped, falling to 5-6 prior to a later match against Stevens. NJCU managed 26 kills in the match but was limited to a .095 attack percentage (26-18-84).
 
Juniata hit .316 overall with 36 winners (36-12-76). Most notable was the third set when the Eagles showcased their talents with 15 kills and no errors in 21 attempts for an astounding .714 team attack percentage.
 
In defeat for NJCU, senior outside hitter KENNY LISK (Old Bridge, NJ/Old Bridge) evened a team-high with seven kills and exceeded 800 for his career with seven winners and a .250 percentage (7-2-20). Two-time Skyline Conference Rookie of the Week BESMIR ARSLANI (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley) had a match-high 10 digs to equal a career best, and the outside hitter finished with seven kills and two blocks. But playing the match with an injury, he had his first off hitting effort of his career, committing eight errors in 29 attempts (-.034).
 
Junior setter/opposite JUSTIN BEAUMONT (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) had 15 assists and five kills. Rookie opposite ANGEL MARTINEZ (Pleasantville, NJ/Pleasantville) hit .273 with five kills (5-2-11) and junior setter GARY PRESTON, JR. (North East MD/Rising Sun (MD)) finished with eight assists.
 
The Eagles received a match-high 12 kills, a .417 percentage (12-2-24) and six digs from 6-foot-5 sophomore outside hitter Ross Madden (Richmond, VA) while senior setter John Almquist (York, PA) dished 32 assists, three aces, five digs, two blocks and hit .667 with a pair of kills.
 
Also for Juniata, freshman 6-foot-7 middle blocker Joe Bortak (Jeannette, PA) finished with a .500 attack rate, seven kills (7-2-10) and three blocks while senior 6-foot-8 middle blocker Ben Wolff (Meadville, PA) added seven kills and three blocks with a .294 attack effort (7-2-17). Senior Mike Kraft (York, PA) led Juniata with eight digs and 6-foot-7 freshman outside hitter Paul Kuhn (York, PA) landed four aces.
 
The first set was the most competitive, with Juniata being limited to a rare low attack percentage at .086 (13-10-35). Madden had seven of his team's kills and hit .500 (7-2-10). There were three ties and two lead changes in the game. Juniata took the lead for good with a three-point spurt to claim a 15-12 edge but the Knights kept it close, including 18-17 on a kill by Arslani. Two kills by Madden and a combo block by Almquist and Bortak, followed by an Almquist winner gave Juniata a 22-18 margin but NJCU didn't quit and pulled with one, 23-22, when Beaumont chalked up a kill. But an NJCU attack error followed by a Wolff blitz gave Juniata the win, 25-22.
 
There were four early ties but Juniata never trailed in the second set and hit .300 (8-2-20). Each team had eight kills in the game. The Eagles led 14-9 before NJCU whittled the lead down to one. Kills by Lisk and Martinez, sandwiched around a combo block by Arslani and freshman middle blocker PATRYK RUSZNICA (Cieszyn, Poland/Bayonne), and a Juniata setting error made it 14-13. Kuhn and Arslani traded kills as the lead stood at one, 15-14. After an NJCU service error, Kuhn went back to serve and would do so nine straight times as Juniata finished the period on a 9-0 run to win 25-14. Kuhn landed three aces during the tear, including two in a row and three in a four point stretch, as the Eagles took a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
In the third set, NJCU just couldn't match Juniata's dynamic size. Wolff hit .833 for the Eagles with five kills (5-0-6) and seven different players had at least one winner. Juniata's lead was just two, 11-9, before scoring eight of the next nine points, aided by four consecutive Gothic Knight attack errors. The Eagles seized a 19-10 margin and would win the set by 10, 25-15, to sweep the maiden matchup.