New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score BOX SCORE
GAME PROGRAM/NOTES: Inside-the-Athlete, RAYMEL CASTRO

JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | On Saturday, No. 6 ranked SUNY New Paltz demonstrated to the volleyball world that they were a serious threat to win the 2013 national championship after sweeping #1 ranked and previous undefeated (30-0) Nazareth College. On Tuesday night, the 17-win New Jersey City University men's volleyball team witnessed how dominant the Hawks could be first hand. SUNY New Paltz won its 25^th match of the season by hitting a colossal .578 as a team with 44 kills and only seven errors as the Hawks swept a non-conference match on April 2, 3-0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-18) at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center on 'Coach Charlie Brown Court.'
 
New Paltz, ranked #6 in the last two American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III Top 15 Poll, improved to 25-5 overall while defeating NJCU (17-13) for the 14^th consecutive meeting. NP had a 44-19 margin in kills on the night despite having just seven more attack attempts (64-57).
 
Most notable for New Paltz was the play of sophomore setter/opposite John Lutjen (Smithtown, NY), this week's AVCA Division III National Player of the Week, who was perfect on attack with 11 kills in 11 attempts for a rare 1.000 hitting percentage. He delivered 18 assists and landed half of the Hawks' eight aces with four.
 
In defeat for NJCU, four-time and reigning Skyline Conference Player of the Week, sophomore outside hitter BESMIR ARSLANI (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley), notched eight of NJCU's 19 total kills, finishing with a line of 8-5-23, adding three digs and two solo blocks.
 
Senior setter/opposite JUSTIN BEAUMONT (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) and junior setter GARY PRESTON, JR. (North East MD/Rising Sun (MD)) each tallied seven assists. Beaumont chipped in five digs.
 
Also for NP, freshman outside hitter Tim Ferriter (Rochester, NY) hit .600 with seven kills against one error (10 attempts), adding eight digs and two aces and freshman right side Christian Smith (Massapequa, NY) hit .500 with seven kills (7-2-10) with 18 assists and two blocks.
 
Also for the Hawks, junior outside Brian Smith (Massapequa, NY) hit .429 with eight kills (8-2-14) and six digs. Freshman 6-foot-5 middle blocker Christopher Husmann (Massapequa, NY) hit .417 with six kills (6-1-12) and two aces. Junior 6-foot-5 middle Brian O'Connor (Guilderland, NY) hit .800 with four kills on five swings, adding three assisted blocks.
 
NP hit .667 in each of the first two sets, bagging 13 kills (one error) on 18 swings in game one when the Hawks, ahead 15-10, used a 7-1 run to jump in front, 22-11 and scored 10 of the final 13 points of the period to set the tone for the match. Lutjen was a perfect 7-for-7 in the set on attack.
 
New Paltz was even better in set two when 18 of its 25 points came via kills and the club made just two errors on 24 swings. Christian Smith was 4-for-4 on attack and Lutjen landed all three balls he swung at. NP pulled away early in the game, scoring eight of the final 11 points of the game before winning, 25-14.
 
NP hit .409 in the final set with 13 kills on 22 attempts (four errors), led by four kills from Brian Smith and three each by Husmann and Ferriter. NJCU was with three points, 17-14, before Husmann served back-to-back aces and the visitors prevailed by seven points, 25-18.
 
NJCU will host its final single match of the season on Thursday, April 4 at 7 p.m. in a Skyline match versus Purchase College. Between the second and third sets, NJCU will honor its lone senior, co-captain JUSTIN BEAUMONT, on Senior Night. NJCU also hosts a Skyline Quad on Sunday, April 7.