Box Score BOX SCORE
NEW YORK, NY (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | No. 14 ranked Kean University rallied from three set points in game three and held off
New Jersey City University in straight sets, 25-19, 25-23, 28-26 in the opening match of a Skyline Conference quad on Sunday at the Max Stern Center.
Kean, which improved to 22-8 (11-1 Skyline) with the win and later defeated host Yeshiva University, clinched the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Skyline Tournament. NJCU fell to 12-15 (7-5 Skyline) with the loss. The Cougars are 4-0 against NJCU since becoming a varsity program in 2011. Kean, currently ranked No. 2 in the latest AVCA Division III Top 15 Poll, also won the first meeting of the season in Jersey City, 3-2, on January 28.
In a match-up of perhaps the top two offensive players in the Skyline Conference, NJCU freshman outside hitter
BESMIR ARSLANI (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley) and Kean junior outside hitter
Steve Vahalla (Bloomfield, NJ/Bloomfield) combined for 29 kills in three sets.
Vahalla hit .345 with 15 kills (15-5-29), six digs and two blocks to lead a Cougar attack which posted a .241 hitting percentage (34-14-83). Freshman setter
Alex Barnhard (Old Bridge, NJ/Old Bridge) had 27 assists and three kills (.429, 3-0-7). Kean freshman middle hitter
Kyle Farley (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill West) hit .312 with seven kills (7-2-16) and three blocks.
Arslani, the reigning Skyline Player of the Week after earning Skyline Rookie of the Week honors five times, hammered home 14 kills, hit .286 (14-6-28), and added seven digs and two blocks. He reached double figures in kills for the 20
th time in 27 matches to open his collegiate career.
Also for NJCU, junior setter/opposite
JUSTIN BEAUMONT (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) delivered 20 assists, eight kills (8-6-19, .278), six digs and two blocks and rookie middle blocker
PATRYK RUSZNICA (Cieszyn, Poland/Bayonne) added eight kills and four blocks.
Beaumont became the fourth player in school history to record 2,000 career assists.
Junior setter
GARY PRESTON, JR. (North East MD/Rising Sun (MD)) finished with 14 assists. Senior outside hitter
KENNY LISK (Old Bridge, NJ/Old Bridge) upped his career kills mark to 933, finishing with six kills and three blocks.
NJCU outplayed Kean statistically, owning the advantage in points, kills, assists, digs and blocks, but committed 47 errors—including 26 attack and 13 service mistakes.
Vahalla led Kean in set one with seven kills and a .600 percentage (7-1-10) as Kean never trailed and hit .207 as a team (13-7-29) while the Knights hit -.061 (8-10-33). NJCU pulled within 21-18 on a triple block by
Lisk, Rusznica and
Beaumont before Kean four of the final five points to win the set, 25-19.
In the second set, Kean hit .231 (11-5-26) and the Knights countered with 11 kills, including five by
Arslani, who tallied
four kills in the opening set and five as well in the third. There were eight ties and two lead changes. NJCU trailed 21-18 before back-to-back
Rusznica blocks, assisted by rookie
ANGEL MARTINEZ (Pleasantville, NJ/Pleasantville) and
Arslani tied it at 21-21. After a tie at 22-22,
Arslani forced a 23-23 tie with winner before back-to-back NJCU attack errors gave Kean the two-point, 25-23 decision.
In the third set, the NJCU offense lit up the Cougars with 19 kills (19-9-38, .263) although Kean did hit .286 with 10 kills (10-2-28). But Kean scored 19 points off Gothic Knight errors, including seven service miscues, in a game with 15 ties and four lead changes.
Down the stretch, Kean was able to survive because NJCU made too many mistakes. A kill by
Arslani made it 22-21 before a
Rusznica service error evened it at 22-22.
Arslani and
Vahalla, who had five kills in nine attempts and hit .444 in the period, traded kills before a winner by
Beaumont have the Knights set point at 24-23.
Arslani made a service error but gave NJCU back a 25-24 and set point No. 2 with a backrow winner. Another service error tied it at 25-25.
Lisk slammed a kill for a 26-25 edge before NJCU committed three consecutive attack errors by
Arslani, Lisk and
Rusznica, with
Farley blocking the final attack on match point.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
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Team Stat Comparison
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NJCU
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KEAN
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Score
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0
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3
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Attack Percentage
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.125 (38-26-96)
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.241 (34-13-83)
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Kills
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38
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34
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Assists
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36
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32
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Service Aces
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2
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4
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Digs
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31
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24
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Total Blocks
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7.0
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5.0
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Points
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47.0
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43.0
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