New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score BOX SCORE

MAHWAH, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Ramapo College, ranked No. 13 in the AVCA Division III Top 15 Coaches' Poll, completed a season sweep of rival New Jersey City University, as the Roadrunners hit .363 as a team and withstood a third set win by the Gothic Knights to claim a 3-1 victory, 25-17, 25-23, 19-25, 25-16, in a Skyline Conference men's volleyball match on Wednesday night at the Bradley Center.
 
Ramapo, improved to 5-2 overall and 3-0 in the Skyline while NJCU, after opening the season with two wins, dropped its fourth in a row against winning competition and fell to 2-4 overall (1-3 Skyline). Ramapo also won the first meeting between the clubs in Jersey City on January 28, 3-0. RCNJ has won the last 15 meetings between the rivals and leads the series, 45-11.
 
Freshman outside hitter Neal Sundberg (Mount Laurel, NJ/Lenape) became the first player to have more kills in a match than NJCU freshman outside hitter BESMIR ARSLANI (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley) this season. Sundberg led Ramapo with 16 kills and a .462 attack percentage (16-4-26).
 
Ramapo had 50 kills and just 17 errors in 91 swings and hit above .300 in three of the four sets. NJCU had a line of .195 with 37 kills (37-22-77).
 
Arslani, a two-time Skyline Conference Rookie of the Week, hit .278 with 11 kills (11-6-18), five digs and two blocks and junior JUSTIN BEAUMONT (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne), in his first start of the season on the right side after five matches at setter, matched Arslani with a team-best 11 kills (11-7-28, .143) and six digs.
 
Junior GARY PRESTON, JR. (North East MD/Rising Sun (MD)) made his first career start at setter and had 33 assists and a .471 setting percentage. Senior outside hitter KENNY LISK (Old Bridge, NJ/Old Bridge) added eight kills (8-5-19, .158) and moved into the Top 10 in program history in career kills. Freshman middle blocker PATRYK RUSZNICA (Cieszyn, Poland/Bayonne) stuffed a match-high five blocks, adding five kills and a .571 attack percentage (5-1-7).
 
Ramapo was led by sophomore setter Andrew Balint (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) who posted a .526 setting percentage and 40 assists. Sophomore outside Jeff Jones (Manahawkin, NJ/Southern Regional) had 11 kills and hit .471 (11-3-17) with two aces.
 
Senior middle blocker Colin McNeill (Little Falls, NJ/Passaic Valley) hit .500 for the second time against NJCU this year and finished with the identical hitting line he did in the January 28^th match (8-2-12). He finished with four blocks (three assisted) and two aces. Sophomore opposite Chris Sidnam (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown) also had eight kills (8-5-19, .158) and two blocks. Junior middle blocker Joel Castro (Vernon, NJ/Vernon Township) added six kills (6-3-12, .250) and two blocks.
 
In the first set, NJCU led 11-8 before Ramapo unleashed an 11-1 run to seize a 19-12 lead and won the set by nine, 25-16. Ramapo had 11 kills in the set and hit .300 (11-5-20). NJCU had four kills but committed five errors and had a negative line (-.077).
 
There were 10 ties and six lead changes in game two. Tied 20-20, Jones had back-to-back winners for a 22-20 edge and Sidnam landed a shot for a 23-21 cushion. NJCU pulled within one, 24-23, after an RCNJ service error and Lisk kill before Ramapo clinched the set and a 2-0 lead in the match, with a kill by Sundberg. Despite the close final margin, Ramapo hit .500 in the set with 18 kills and just three errors in 30 attacks. Sundberg hit .714 in the period with five kills (5-0-7) and Jones hit .444 (5-1-9) while McNeil was a perfect 4-for-4 on attack. NJCU had 12 kills in the set, led by Beaumont with five.
 
In the third set, NJCU had a scintillating effort against Ramapo's starters, hitting a colossal .737 with 16 kills and only two errors in 19 attempts. Beaumont hit .833 with five kills in six tries and Lisk was 4-for-4 with Arslani adding four winners. Ramapo had 10 kills but was limited to just .182 accuracy (10-6-22). After a pair of early ties, NJCU vaulted out to a 17-11 lead after one of two kills by Arslani in a three-point stretch and Rusznica solo blocked Jones to increase the lead to 19-14. The Knights scored five of the next seven points, claiming a 24-16 advantage on a kill by Beaumont before Lisk sealed the set with a winner.
 
But with a chance to tie the match and force a fifth and decisive set, NJCU was unable to duplicate its game three efforts and was limited to a negative attack rate in the fourth set with five kills but nine errors (5-9-21, -.190). Meanwhile, Ramapo hit .421 in the period with 11 kills (11-3-19) and never trailed, behind Sundberg who had five winners and hit .571 (5-1-7). RCNJ opened up a 9-1 lead and NJCU was unable to draw closer than six points the rest of the set.
 
NJCU, which boasts among the most competitive schedules in the country this year, next faces Hunter College in non-conference action on Friday, February 10 at 6 p.m. in New York, NY.