New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score 1 | Box Score 3 JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | In its first home matches in more than a month, New Jersey City University freshman middle hitter SHELDON COURE (Torrance, CA/Redondo Union (CA)) hammered home a combined 29 kills including 20 in the second contest but NJCU couldn't hold a 24-21 fourth set lead against New York University or a 1-0 set lead against Hunter College, losing twice by 3-1 margins on March 23. In the opener, NJCU, hosting the Violets for the first time, dropped a 3-1 (25-23, 25-17, 19-25, 27-25) decision. Hunter, in the third contest of the tri-match, defeated the Gothic Knights, 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 27-25, 25-18).
 
NJCU fell to 8-13 overall (lost 3). NYU, which also defeated Hunter (11-9) in the middle match, 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-19) to snap the Hawks' seven-match winning streak, improved to 14-9 with the pair of wins at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center ('Coach Charlie Brown Court').
 
Coure hit a combined .458 in the two matches, averaging 3.62 kills and 1.00 blocks per set with 29 winners (29-7-48) and eight blocks (three solo, five assisted). Senior setter and captain GARY PRESTON, JR. (North East MD/Rising Sun (MD)) averaged 10.00 assists in the two matches, dishing 80 assists in eight sets.
  In the first-ever meeting between the schools in Jersey City, NJCU trailed 17-13 in set four before a 7-0 run, aided by five Violet errors and two kills  by sophomore outside hitters BILL LE (Jersey City, NJ/Snyder) and ANGEL MARTINEZ (Pleasantville, NJ/Pleasantville) allowed the Knights to surge in front, 20-17. A pair of kills by Coure and an ace by Preston gave the Knights three set points with a chance to force a 5^th set.
 
But a kill by Nick Capriccio, a kill by sophomore outside Phil Bueno (Edison, NJ/St. Joseph's-Metuchen), and an ace by Capriccio forced a 24-24 tie. NJCU had its fourth set point after a service error by Capriccio, leading 25-24. But Bueno tied it with a kill, Chase Klein put away a winner for match point, and Bueno's short kill clinched it as NYU avoided a fifth set, 27-25.
 
NYU, which was ranked as high as No. 9 in Division III earlier this year and appeared in the first seven polls of the season, but entered the match unranked. NYU won despite committing 22 service errors versus just seven aces. The Violets hit .328 as a team with 60 kills (60-22-116) and placed three players in double figures in kills.
 
Meanwhile, in defeat, NJCU had its second highest team hitting percentage of the season at .316 (40-16-76) and only committed nine service errors.
 
Bueno, the lone Garden Stater on the roster for the Violets, led NYU with a .500 attack percentage and 13 kills (13-3-20) while Klein hit .417 with a match-high 14 kills (14-4-23) and four digs. Will Kozloski finished with 10 kills and hit .333 (10-3-21).
 
Setter Connor Mortland delivered 48 assists and put away six kills at a .400 rate (6-2-10). Capriccio finished with nine kills (9-4-19, .263), four aces and two blocks. Colin LaPorte had eight kills and two aces while Ryan Sharp collected nine digs.
 
Coure hit .538 in the loss, slamming nine kills in 13 attempts with just two errors, adding four assisted blocks and two aces. Le also put away nine kills and hit .375 (9-3-16) with five digs and Preston delivered 32 assists, five digs and two aces.
 
Sophomore opposite KENDALL TRIBBETT (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional) hit .417 with eight kills (8-3-12) and five blocks (four assisted). Sophomore middle hitter DAQUE WILCOX (Camden, NJ/Camden County Tech) and Martinez each finished with six kills.
 
NYU had an 11-8 margin in kills in game one and 18-7 in set two. In game one there were eight ties and seven lead changes. Tied at 18-18 and 19-19, two kills by Bueno and one by LaPorte pushed NYU ahead, 22-20. NYU increased the lead to 24-21. A Coure kill and a solo block by Tribbett made it a one-point game (24-23) before the setter, Mortland, put away a second touch to seal it. NYU broke open a close second set, moving in front 19-12 on back-to-back Klein kills and extended the lead to 21-14 before the Violets prevailed by eight. NYU hit .519 in the period (18-4-27)
 
In the third set, , NJCU was sensational, blasting an .812 team attack rate with 13 kills and no errors in 16 attempts, to overcome 16 winners by the Violets (16-6-30, .333). NJCU never trailed in the period. Up 17-15, an NYU service error and consecutive kills by Tribbett and Wilcox made it a five-point game (20-15), before those two teamed up for a block (24-18) and Le's kill gave NJCU the set victory. NYU had a 15-12 margin in kills in game four although was outhit by NJCU, .320 to .273.
  Statistically, when you look at the NJCU/Hunter match, you would have thought the Knights came out victorious. After all, NJCU had 10 more kills than the Hawks (57-47), 15 more digs (54-39) and Coure posted his second 20-kill effort of his career.
 
But NJCU, which won the opening set, couldn't close out the Hawks in the third set when Hunter scored three of the final four points for a 2-1 lead in the match and was not competitive in game four.
 
Coure was sensational in the loss, smashing 20 kills and hitting .429 in 35 attempts (five errors) while rejecting four blocks (three solo). Tribbett floored a career-high 12 kills and hit .267 (12-4-30) while Preston delivered 48 assists and eight digs.
 
Sophomore libero JON DIAZ (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) was a dig shy of a career high with 19 while Le had a near double-double, finishing with 10 digs and nine kills, hitting .235 (9-5-17). Martinez added seven kills, eight digs and two aces.
 
Alexandru Barbulescu was Hunter's leader with 13 kills, hitting .476 (13-3-21) with three blocks and Steven Tarquinio aided with 10 kills at a .444 rate (10-2-18), adding three blocks. Senior setter Stanley Martinez dished 37 assists, five digs, four kills (4-1-9, .333), three aces and three blocks.
 
Also for the Hawks, Matthew Ng had nine kills and six digs, Nino Hot hit .353 with seven winners (7-1-17) and seven digs and libero Colin Horn called out 12 digs.
 
NJCU overcame seven game one ties by hitting .345 and landed 14 kills. Tied at 14-14, the Knights reeled off the next five points, including a pair of kills by Le, highlighted by a winner on an overpass and a dump shot into the back corner. Hunter rallied to pull within one three times—22-21, 23-22 and 24-23—but each time NJCU answered and on set point, Tribbett put away a shot for a 25-23 decision.
 
NJCU had a 17-8 margin in kills in game two but committed 10 errors (.219) and the Hawks made just one attack miscue, hitting .368. The clubs traded seven ties, including 20-20, before a kill by Tarquinio, an NJCU attack error, and a double block by Tarquinio and Ben Crusinberry pushed the lead to 23-21. A pair of Gothic Knight errors gave Hunter a 25-21 win.
 
Set three was an offensive battle with NJCU owning a slim 17-16 margin. NJCU led 23-22 after back-to-back shots by Coure and Le but Hunter responded with winners by Tarquinio and Barbulescu for a 24-23 lead. A service error tied it before kills by Hot made it 25-24 and 26-25 and on set point, the Knights hit into the net.
 
Hunter jumped out to an early lead in game four, and used a 15-9 differential in kills to easily win. The Hawks surged in front, 16-8 and 22-13 before prevailing by seven.
 
NJCU is 4-3 in Skyline Conference  action and faces NYU-Poly on Thursday, March 27 at 7 p.m. in Jersey City.