New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score BOX SCORE

PROVIDENCE, RI (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | The first time New Jersey City University faced Wentworth Institute of Technology this season, the Gothic Knights weren't competitive, and sophomore outside hitter BESMIR ARSLANI (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley) was limited to seven kills and a negative hitting percentage for only the third time in his career. Arslani will have a much better memory of the March 15 meeting after enjoying one of the finest performances in the 24-year history of the program. Arslani proved to be unstoppable, unleashing a career and NCAA Division III season high 28 kills, including seven in the decisive fifth set as NJCU overcame Wentworth, 3-2 (18-25, 25-23, 25-19, 23-25, 15-12) in the second match of the 2013 Wildcats Invitational, hosted by  Johnson & Wales University Invitational at the Wildcat Center.
 
Arslani joined Hall-of-Famer Satsay Thongvichith (36, 33, 30) and current Ramapo College coach Kevin Rodgers (36, 32) as the only players in program history to have more than 25 kills in a match twice in a career.
 
NJCU (15-9) stuffed 14.0 blocks as a team, led by freshman middle blocker DAQUE WILCOX (Camden, NJ/Camden County Tech), who rejected 11 blocks (three solo, eight assisted)—the 17^th time in school history a player has had at least 11 blocks in a match. NJCU held a two-kill, 60-58 edge over the Leopards (10-6).
 
Arslani hit .310, slamming down 28 kills (28-10-58)—one better than his previous career high—while posting 25 or more kills in a match for the third time in his career and second time this season. He collected nine digs, five assists and two blocks (one solo) as the reigning Skyline Conference and ECAC Division III Player of the Week reached the 20 kill plateau for the second straight match, the fifth time in seven matches and the ninth time in his career.
 
Senior JUSTIN BEAUMONT (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) started at setter and posted a near triple-double, finishing with 49 assists (121 attempts, .405), nine kills, a .368 attack percentage (9-2-19), seven digs and three blocks.
 
Freshman opposite KENDALL TRIBBETT (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional) posted a career-high with nine kills (9-6-18, .167) and four blocks while freshman outside hitter NICK POH (Richmond, VA/Varina (VA)) added seven kills and seven digs. Sophomore middle blocker IVAN PRENSA (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) chipped in five kills, hit .500 (5-1-8) and put down two blocks (one solo).
 
Four players reached double figures in kills for Wentworth. Junior middle blocker Brian Mann (East Freetown, MA) hit .375 with 12 kills (12-3-24) and six blocks and junior outside hitter Ross Burdett (Needham, MA) floored 11 kills, hit .318 (11-4-22) with two aces and two blocks. Senior setter Tyler Moriarty (Wilbraham, MA) had 50 assists on 120 attempts for a .417 rate, adding eight digs, four kills (4-1-7, .429) and two blocks.


Also for the Leopards junior right side Mike Buonincontra (Shelton, CT) had a double-double of 11 kills (11-7-27, .148) and 10 digs and sophomore outside hitter Rami Akouri (Fall River, MA) finished with 11 kills and two blocks. Freshman libero Zach Newhouse (Lancaster, CA) defended 14 digs.
 
After sweeping NJCU in the first meeting of the year, Wentworth looked like it would again after winning the first set easily, 25-18. The Leopards hit .348 in the set with 12 kills while limiting the Knights to a .036 attack. WIT broke an early 6-6 tie and led by as many as four points at the midway point before scoring four of the final five points to widen the margin. Arslani had five kills in the game; Burdett landed four (4-0-6, .667) for the Leopards and Akouri added three (3-1-5, .400).
 
 
In a second set with five ties and one lead change, NJCU held off the Leopards to win by two, 25-23, and even the match, despite Wentworth owning a 16-9 kill differential. That's partially due to NJCU's five blocks in the set and Wentworth's 10 attack errors. Burdett had six kills (6-4-13, .154) and Mann hit .420 (4-1-7) in the game. Arslani led NJCU with three kills. All five ties came early in the set and after being locked at 7-7, NJCU gradually built a seven-point, 19-12 lead. But the Leopards would make it a game and a kill by Moriarty capped an 8-1 run and made it a 20-19 deficit. A kill by Arslani, a WIT error and a Poh winner made it 23-20 and the Leopards committed an attack error for 24-20. WIT would stave off three set points, drawing within 24-23 after two NJCU attack errors, before Wilcox and Arslani teamed for a rejection of Mann on the fourth set point as the Leopards aimed to tie the set.
 
NJCU enjoyed one of its finest offensive sets of the year in game three, slamming 18 kills at a .419 percentage (18-5-31)—eight more kills than Wentworth. Arslani put away six kills in the game and Tribbett was 4-for-4 on attack. No Wentworth player had more than two kills. Tied at 10-10, NJCU scored the next six points and seven of the next eight to build a 17-11 cushion before winning the period by six points, 25-19.
 
In game four, Wentworth led from the start and opened a 7-2 lead before expanding it to 10-5, 16-11 and 22-17. NJCU continued to battle and drew within 22-20, before the Leopards made it 24-21 after a Moriarty kill and an error on the Knights. After a WIT attack error made it 24-22, Arslani slammed a shot for 24-23, but the rally was silenced when Buonincontra put away a kill for set point, 25-23, to force the fifth set. Arslani was stellar for NJCU in the fourth set, landing seven of NJCU's 13 kills in the game. Buonincontra had seven of WIT's 15 kills in the set (15-7-34, .235) and hit .385.
 
In a back-and-forth fifth set, Arslani's dominance was the difference as he accounted for seven of NJCU's 10.0 points which included seven kills and a scintillating .600 attack percentage (7-1-10). Wentworth had just five kills as a team and was limited to a .000 attack rate. NJCU scored the first five points before the Leopards answered with an 8-0 run to seize an 8-5 lead, after the Knights committed six errors. NJCU responded with another run of its own—it's second 5-0 spurt of the set—to claim a 10-8 advantage, with Arslani slamming two kills. Wentworth twice drew within one at 10-9 and 11-10, but each time Arslani retaliated with a kill and when he slugged his third straight winner, NJCU led 13-10. WIT couldn't get closer than 13-11 or 14-12 as Arslani added his career-high 28^th kill to make it 14-11 and assisted on a winner by Beaumont on match point.