New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score BOX SCORE

UNION, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Top-seeded and nationally No. 14 ranked Kean University hit .351 as a team and only committed 12 attack errors as the Cougars ousted fourth-seeded New Jersey City University in the 2013 Skyline Conference men's volleyball semifinals, 3-0 (25-11, 25-18, 26-24) on April 13 at Harwood Arena.
 
Kean improved to 24-7 after the win and moved onto to the conference finals where it knocked off The Sage Colleges, 3-1, to claim back-to-back league titles and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. NJCU falls to 19-16 and will await word of a potential Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament bid next week.
 
Kean had a 39-28 advantage in kills and the Knights committed 22 attack errors. The Cougars lead the brief three-year all-time series, 7-0. It was the second consecutive year NJCU fell in the league semifinals.
 
The Cougars were paced by reigning Skyline Player of the Year and senior outside hitter  Steve Vahalla (Bloomfield, NJ/Bloomfield), who hit .542 and accounted for 16 of Kean's 39 kills, with only three errors on 24 attempts. He added three aces and three blocks.
 
In defeat for NJCU, four-time Skyline Conference  Player of the Week and sophomore outside hitter BESMIR ARSLANI (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley) had a team-best nine kills (9-6-26, .115) and two blocks while rookie middle blocker DAQUE WILCOX (Camden, NJ/Camden County Tech) had a solid effort, hitting .429 with eight kills and no errors (14 attempts), adding a solo block.
 
Senior setter/outside JUSTIN BEAUMONT (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) delivered 16 assists, seven kills, five digs and one block and junior setter GARY PRESTON, JR. (North East MD/Rising Sun (MD)) collected seven assists.


For the Cougars, sophomore setter Alex Barnhard (Old Bridge, NJ/Old Bridge) distributed 34 assists in 66 chances for a .515 accuracy rate, adding two blocks. Sophomore middle hitter Kyle Farley (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill West) hit at a .500 pace with six kills and one error (10 attempts) with four blocks.
 
Also contributing for Kean was sophomore outside hitter John Cunningham (Cinnaminson, NJ/Cinnaminson), who tallied a .357 percentage on six kills and one error (14 attempts), adding six digs.  Sophomore right side Ed Jedziniak (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) had three blocks. Junior liberos Tom Kemmerle (Cinnaminson, NJ/Cinnaminson) and Michal Kucza (Kalisz, Poland/Bayonne) each tallied eight digs.
 
Kean led the entire first set. Ahead 9-4, the Cougars used a 9-3 burst to move in front 18-7 and later scored five of the final six points of the set. Kean hit .526 in the period with 12 kills (12-2-19), led by Vahalla with a .857 percentage on six winners (seven attempts). NJCU hit -.048 in the set although Wilcox put away four kills in four attempts.
 
In the second set, Kean broke away from an early 7-6 narrow margin by scoring eight of the next 10 points for a 15-8 advantage. NJCU couldn't draw closer than three points the rest of the set and the hosts scored four of the final five points. Vahalla again led the way, hitting .444 with five winners (5-1-9); three other Kean players had two kills in the set. NJCU was held to a -.107 percentage.
 
The third set was the most competitive with NJCU pushing the Cougars into extra points. Kean hit .360 in the set, led by Vahalla with five kills (5-2-8) and Farley with three more as five players had at least two putaways. NJCU had a 16-14 edge in kills in the period and hit .312 overall (16-6-32), led by Arslani who slammed seven kills in 14 swings (one error) for a .429 accuracy rate, and Wilcox who hit .800 with four kills in five tries. NJCU had a sizeable 15-10 lead midway through the set after back-to-back Arslani kills. After Kean clawed within 16-14 and 17-15, the Knights battled back and winners by Wilcox and Arslani pushed the advantage to 20-16. But Kean scored the next four points to tie it at 20-20, including a kill and ace by Farley. NJCU regained a 23-20 advantage with kills by Wilcox and freshman middle HAMZA ELSAMMAK (North Bergen, NJ/North Bergen) and a solo block by rookie opposite KENDALL TRIBBETT (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional) accounting for the points.
 
But Kean concluded the set by scoring six of the final seven points. After a kill by Arslani gave NJCU set point and  24-21 lead, Kean staved off three set points—a kill and a block combo by Jedziniak and an NJCU ball handling error evened it at 24-24 before Vahalla unleashed back-to-back aces to clinch the win.