New Jersey City University Athletics

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 JAMAICA, QUEENS, NY (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University swept Lancaster Bible College before dropping a frustrating match to eventual tournament champion Eastern Mennonite University in which the first two games went into extra points as the Gothic Knight men's volleyball team split two matches on the second day of the 10^th annual York College Men's Volleyball Classic. NJCU finished the tournament at 2-2 and in third place in the seven-team field, knocking off Lancaster Bible, 30-28, 25-20, 25-14, before dropping a 27-25, 30-28, 25-14 outcome to EMU.
 
Freshman middle hitter SHELDON COURE (Torrance, CA/Redondo Union (CA)), the reigning Division III National Player of the Week and two-time Skyline Conference Rookie of the Week, was named to the All-Tournament Team after compiling 39 kills (2.60 per set), a .287 attack percentage and 0.67 blocks per set over the four-match event.
 
NJCU is now 8-11 overall after going 2-2 on the weekend. Junior outside hitter BILL LE (Jersey City, NJ/Snyder) had a combined 18 kills over six sets on day two of the tournament.
 
Eastern Mennonite, which went 4-0 on the weekend, winning 12 of 14 sets, won the tournament with Lasell College taking second place also at 4-0, but twice needing five sets to prevail, including a 3-2 win over NJCU on day one. Marymount finished fourth at 2-2, losing to NJCU on day one of the event. York was fifth, Lancaster Bible sixth and NYU-Poly placed seventh.
 
"When we played in system we were a dangerous team," observed first-year head coach Robert Cole. "Ultimately we had a ton of unforced errors that killed us. BILL LE was a difference maker against EMU and I think a few things clicked for him. We're gonna rest up and then get after it for the remainder of the season."
  Despite Lancaster Bible's record (2-16, lost 9), the Chargers entered the match with the fourth most difficult schedule in the country according to the NCAA. LBC made the Gothic Knights work for the first set win before the Knights cruised in the second and third games. NJCU stormed back from a 24-19 deficit in game one to stun LBC.
 
Sophomore middle hitter DAQUE WILCOX (Camden, NJ/Camden County Tech) pounded 10 kills and hit .333 (10-3-21) with four service aces and a solo block while Coure also hit .333 with seven kills (7-1-18) and two blocks.
 
Le also landed seven kills (7-4-19, .158) with seven digs. Senior setter and captain GARY PRESTON, JR. (North East MD/Rising Sun (MD)) paced the offense with 28 assists. Sophomore outside ANGEL MARTINEZ (Pleasantville, NJ/Pleasantville) supplied a season-high 10 digs.
 
LBC's Alex Bahn paced the Chargers with 11 kills but also committed 11 attack errors in 41 attempts. Ken Diller had six kills (6-2-16, .250). Tyler Eckels finished with 24 assists, five digs, two aces and two blocks and Mitch Demko defended 10 digs, adding five kills.
 
In a back-and-fourth opening set, NJCU hit .216 and had a 15-14 edge in kills. The Chargers jumped out to leads of 8-4, 17-11 and 19-13 and held five set points, leading 24-19 after a double block. But NJCU was just beginning an incredible comeback.
 
A kill by Coure, two Charger attack errors and a kill by Martinez cut the deficit to one (24-23) and after an LBC timeout, two more attack errors by Bahn, including a block by sophomore opposite KENDALL TRIBBETT (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional) and Coure that tied it, allowed NJCU to score its sixth consecutive point and gain a 25-24 edge. A kill by Bahn tied it. NJCU had one-point leads at 26-25, 27-26 and 28-27 before the Chargers tied it each time, including two kills by Diller. However, tied at 28-28, Le put away an attack and Demko's attack error clinched the 30-28 win.
 
NJCU had a 12-7 advantage in kills in game two. Tied at 13-13, NJCU opened up several narrow three-point leads before pushing its advantage to 21-17 on a Preston ace and prevailed by five, 25-20.
 
NJCU only had six kills in game three (6-2-17, .235) yet never trailed, bursting out to a 9-1 advantage and never looked back, winning 25-14. NJCU had two chances to take sets from the Royals (10-9) but in the first meeting between the schools in three years, the Gothic Knights couldn't close out the eventual tournament champions or beat EMU for the first time in series history.
 
Tournament MVP Quentin Moore paced the Royals with a double-double of 19 kills, 11 digs and a .297 attack percentage (19-8-37) and setter Matt Dolan delivered 36 assists, eight digs and four blocks.
 
Le reached double figures in kills for the second time this season and hit .269 (11-4-26) with nine digs and three blocks and Wilcox rejected six blocks (two solo) and landed six kills in 21 swings with just one error (.238). Coure tallied six kills and two blocks but no other player had more than four winners and Preston collected 22 assists.
 
Also for EMU, which had a 42-30 margin in kills, Jesse Reist finished with eight kills (8-4-19, .211) and seven digs and Garrett Delph chipped in three blocks.
 
NJCU hit .375 in the opening set with 13 kills and only one error (13-1-32) while EMU committed seven errors on 14 kills (14-7-30, .233). There were 10 ties and three lead changes and NJCU, which led 21-18 before EMU tied it at 21-21 and 22-22, took leads of 23-22 and 24-23, on kills by Le. But the Royals responded each time, including 24-24 on a kill by Moore. NJCU regained a 25-24 cushion on a kill by Wilcox, before Moore took over, unleashing three consecutive kills to tie it, put EMU in front, and clinch the game, 27-25. He had eight kills in the first set alone.
 
In the second set, EMU slammed 21 kills versus 10 for the Knights, but NJCU remained close because the Royals committed 11 attack errors as the clubs traded 11 ties and six lead changes. EMU held leads of 15-11 and 18-14 before NJCU stormed back on a 6-1 run to take a 20-19 edge. NJCU had a 23-22 lead after an EMU error but couldn't separate itself from the Royals. Wilcox and Reist traded kills as EMU moved in front, 25-24 before Le planted back-to-back shots for a 26-25 NJCU margin. Moore tied it with a kill. An error by Coure put EMU in front but he answered with a kill to tie it at 27-27 before Moore and Le traded kills and a 28-28 deadlock. But once again Moore put EMU ahead—his 11^th kill of the period—and a bad set sealed a 30-28 win for EMU.
 
Moore didn't have a kill in the final set, but NJCU hit -.179, committing 12 errors on attack (7-12-28). A close game early on gradually expanded with scores of 16-9 and 20-13 before the Royals scored the final five points, prevailing 25-14.
 
After spring break, NJCU returns to the court in 15 days when it hosts New York University and Hunter College in a tri-match on Sunday, March 23 at 11 a.m. at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center ('Coach Charlie Brown Court.')

NOTES:

NJCU leads all-time series with Lancaster Bible, 6-2 Eastern Mennonite leads all-time series, 5-0. First meeting since March 26, 2011. DAQUE WILCOX had his seventh career double-digit kill effort (fifth of season) against Lancaster. BILL LE was two kills shy of his career high of 13 against NYU-Poly on February 16. It was his third career double figure kill effort (second of season).

All-Tournament Team:

Alex Bahn, Lancaster Bible
SHELDON COURE, NJCU
Pryce Ernberger, Marymount
Rishi Sarkar, NYU-Poly
Avinash Thomas, York

MVP: Quentin Moore, EMU
Libero: Zach Guiciardi, EMU

RESULTS:
Friday, March 7
4:30 pm
Court 1: York College def. Lancaster Bible College, 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-17, 25-20)
Court 2: Lasell College def. NYU-Poly, 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 25-14)

6:30 pm. 
Court 1: Eastern Mennonite def. Lancaster Bible, 3-2
Court 2:  Lasell def. NJCU, 3-2 (25-20, 18-25, 27-29, 25-22, 15-10)

8:30 pm
Court 1: Eastern Mennonite def  York College, 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-23)
Court 2: NJCU def. Marymount, 3-1 (26-24, 25-23, 19-25, 25-22)
 
Saturday, March 8
10:30 am
Court 1: Lasell def Marymount, 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 25-14)
Court 2: Eastern Mennonite def. NYU-Poly, 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-11)

12:30 pm
Court 1: Lasell def. York, 3-2 (25-18, 25-19, 25-11, 25-23, 15-11)
Court 2: NJCU def. Lancaster Bible, 3-0 (30-28, 25-20, 25-14)

2:30 pm
Court 1: Marymount def. NYU-Poly, 3-0 (25-12, 25-13, 25-11)
Court 2: Eastern Mennonite def. NJCU 3-0 (27-25, 30-28, 25-15)

4:30 pm
Court 1: Marymount def. York, 3-0 (25-15, 25-23, 25-20)
Court 2: Lancaster Bible def. NYU-Poly, 3-0 (25-16, 26-24, 25-21)