JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University won the opening set and held late leads in the second and third games before Cairn rallied in each and edged the Gothic Knights, 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-20) in a non-conference men's volleyball match on February 25 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center.
 
Cairn, which plays in the challenging Continental Volleyball Conference, snapped a five-game losing streak and upped its mark to 8-10, defeating NJCU (6-4) for the seventh consecutive meeting. The Skyline Conference-leading Knights had their three-match winning streak halted.
 
The Highlanders served 13 aces in the comeback, including 12 in the final three games and 10 combined in sets two and three. Cairn had double figures in kills in all four games.
 
The Highlanders were led by sophomore outside hitter Josiah Buss (Rochester, NY) with a match-best 13 kills (13-4-30), a .300 attack rate, six digs, four aces and two blocks. Freshman outside hitter Andy Willits (Hatfield, PA) didn't play the first set but was a difference maker in the final three, tallying 10 kills (10-5-27, .185) with four aces.
 
NJCU junior opposite Kendall Tribbett (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional) led NJCU with 10 kills and three blocks while sophomore middle hitter Sheldon Coure (Redondo Beach, CA/Redondo Union) provided five blocks, five kills and two aces.
 
Junior outside hitter Daque Wilcox (Camden, NJ/Camden County Tech) chipped in seven kills in the loss (7-2-25, .200), seven digs and three aces with senior outside Bill Le (Jersey City, NJ/Snyder) finishing with six kills, five digs and three blocks.
 
Also for NJCU, junior libero Nick Poh (Richmond, VA/Varina) dished 13 digs. In a two-setter rotation rookie setter John Leon (Guatemala City, Guatemala/Colegio Interamericano de Guatemala) gave out 19 assists and six digs and freshman setter Eric Maldonado (Jersey City, NJ/County Prep) had a near double-double, tallying 10 assists and nine digs. Freshman middle Jalen Sorrell (Edison, NJ/John P. Stevens), last week's AVCA Division III National Player of the Week, had three blocks.
 
Other standouts for Cairn included freshman setter Alex Lower (Waldorf, MD) who had 34 assists in 96 attempts (.354) and three blocks. Junior opposite Michael Emond (Coventry, CT) added five blocks and two aces. Senior outside Michael Garven (Newtown, PA) hit .364 on 11 swings (five kills).
 
In the opening set, NJCU overcame six ties, using four blocks and 10 kills (.241, 10-3-29) to seize a 1-0 lead in the match. Trailing 18-14 and 19-16, a 6-1 run saw the Knight tie it up at 20-20 and claim a 22-20 edge. A pair of blocks by Coure with Le and Leon joining in on the fun, and kills by Tribbett and Le gave NJCU a 20-19 lead and a winner from Coure kept NJCU in the lead. Cairn tied it on a kill by Garven and a block by Emond and Garven. Down one, freshman opposite Micah Godshall (Souderton, PA), who had three aces in the match, tied it with a kill.But after a Cairn service error, Leon floated an ace into a useful spot in the back right corner for a 25-23 decision.
 
Cairn hit .333 with 10 kills and four aces in game two but Cairn made a major push late to claim the set. NJCU led 20-17 after a block by Sorrell and Tribbett. But NJCU had no answer for Cairn's Willits who helped the guests unleash an 8-0 run to even the match. He had three aces during the run including back-to-back for points 24 and 25.
 
Six more aces fueled Cairn in the third set as the Highlanders made another late push. NJCU jumped in front 11-3 and held a commanding 15-9 lead before CU slowly chipped away. A combo block by Sorrell and Le and a winner by Le made it 19-15, and the Knights maintained a 20-16 margin. But once again Cairn kept NJCU off balance with its serving and reeled off the next seven points behind Godshall who had a pair of aces. NJCU was able to draw with 23-22 and 24-23 when Cairn posted attack errors before Willits put away set point for a 25-23 decision.
 
In the final set, NJCU was never able to gain an advantage. Cairn jumped out to a 6-1 and held a similar margin through much of the period before prevailing by five.
 
QUOTES:
NJCU head coach Robert Cole (second season)
 
On the disappointing outcome: "We wasted a great opportunity tonight. We had an electric crowd, some great offense and defensive moments in the first set but we didn't do enough to beat a good Cairn team. Andy Willits [for Cairn] kept us out of system all night and we had no answer. We did not follow our game plan and didn't run our system. You're not going to win many matches like that."

OF NOTE:

• Series: Cairn leads, 13-2 and has won the last seven meetings. NJCU has never defeated Cairn at home. Its last win over the Highlanders came when the school was known as Philadelphia Biblical University—a 3-1 win on March 20, 2005 in Langhorne, PA.
• Sheldon Coure exceeded the 100-block plateau for his career in the loss. He now has 102 blocks (24 solo, 78 assisted) in just 40 matches and 134 sets.

 
WHAT'S NEXT?
NJCU hits the road tomorrow night, February 26 for a 7 p.m. match at Lancaster Bible College in Lancaster, Pa. It will be the second meeting this season between the non-conference foes. NJCU downed LBC, 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-16) on February 3 in Jersey City. John Leon had 22 assists and Daque Wilcox put away nine kills in the win. NJCU leads the series, 7-2.