New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score 1 BOX SCORE: NJCU vs. Lehman
BOX SCORE: Gallaudet vs. Penn State-Behrend
GAME PROGRAM/NOTES: Inside-the-Athlete features: JORDON CASILLAS, JONATHAN FONT, DONELL GEE and KENDALL TRIBBETT

JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University freshman middle hitter DAQUE WILCOX (Camden, NJU/Camden County Tech) established a school record that will never be broken as the rookie smashed a career-high 10 kills in 10 attempts for a perfect 1.000 attack percentage while contributing five blocks as NJCU swept Lehman College, 3-0 (25-10, 25-18, 25-18) in the opening match of a six-match, non-conference quad hosted by the Gothic Knights on February 23 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center on 'Coach Charlie Brown Court.'
 
NJCU (8-5) wins its third in a row and defeats Lehman (4-4) for the 17^th time in the last 18 meetings. Behind Wilcox' proficiency, NJCU posted its second best team hitting percentage of the season at .345 (30-11-55) while limiting the Lightning to a -.043 attack rate (17-20-69).
 
Senior outside hitter JUSTIN BEAUMONT (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) added a .467 percentage with eight kills versus one error (15 attempts), with six digs, two aces and two blocks. Freshman middle/opposite HAMZA ELSAMMAK (North Bergen, NJ/North Bergen) hit .667 with five kills (one error) on six swings while contributing a pair of blocks. Senior setter GARY PRESTON, JR. (North East MD/Rising Sun (MD)) delivered a .562 setting percentage with 27 assists.
 
Also for NJCU, freshman libero JON DIAZ (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) defended a match-best and career-high 11 digs while freshman outside hitter NICK POH (Richmond, VA)/Varina (VA)) finished with six kills and five digs. Sophomore opposite IVAN PRENSA served three aces in one set and freshman opposite KENDALL TRIBBETT (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional) rejected four assisted blocks in two sets.
 
Lehman was led by senior middle blocker Brian Francisco (Bronx, NY) who equaled a team high with four kills and hit .333 (4-1-9), adding seven assists, four digs and three aces. Senior middle blocker Luis Colon (Bronx, NY) had eight assists and four digs.
 
NJCU hit an incredible .667 as a team in the opening set with 11 kills (one error) on 15 attempts, paced by Wilcox who was 4-for-4 and Poh with a perfect 3-for-3 line. Preston had 10 assists in the set while Wilcox and Tribbett had three blocks apiece. The Knights trailed early, 8-6 before unleashing a 14-1 run behind the serving of Preston and Beaumont. Wilcox and Tribbett teamed for their three blocks during the run. Including the final points, NJCU scored 19 of the final 21 points in set one, with back-to-back kills from Poh and a Wilcox ace sealing it. Lehman had six kills in the period.
 
In set two, NJCU had a 12-6 margin in kills, led by Beaumont with six kills (one error) on eight swings for a .625 percentage and Preston with 11 assists. After gaining a 5-4 lead, the Knights never trailed again, and open a 17-9 lead before the Lightning fought back with a 7-2 run to pull within three (19-16). Kills by Beaumont and Elsammak and a combo block by those two players extended the lead to 22-16 before the Knights prevailed by seven, winning on a Wilcox put away.
 
NJCU's kill margin was just 7-5 in the final set but the Knights were more accurate, hitting .312, led by Wilcox at 4-for-4. Tied at 9-9, NJCU utilized a 7-0 run to build a 16-9 advantage. Lehman was able to whittle the deficit to three (20-17) before NJCU wrapped up the sweep by scoring five of the final six points and clinched the match on Wilcox's 10^th winner.
  In a match-up between a second-year and first-year program, the Lions (6-7) hit .482 as a team with 32 kills versus just five errors (56 swings) and the Bison (0-7) had eight kills but committed 24 errors (59 swings), for a -.271 rate.
 
Five players had at least four kills for PSU-Behrend, led by freshman middle hitter Josh Oertly (Cochranton, PA) with a .727 percentage on nine kills (9-1-111), while freshman outside hitter Eric Theiss (Plum, PA) provided six kills on seven attempts for an .857 percentage, adding two aces. Junior setter Colin Ingram (Hilliard, OH) dished 18 assists and landed a pair of aces and was one of four players responsible for three blocks.  Freshman middle hitter Kevin Smith (Harrisburg, PA) hit .800 with four kills (4-0-5) and three blocks. Gallaudet freshman libero James Wilson (Tucson, AZ) defended eight digs.