UNION, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University dropped a match against nationally No. 1 ranked Kean University before posting a season sweep of The Sage Colleges as NJCU split a Skyline Conference tri-match hosted by Kean on February 28 at Harwood Arena. NJCU dropped a 3-0 decision to top-ranked Kean (25-15, 25-17, 25-14) before notching a 3-1 triumph against Sage (23-25, 25-15, 25-18, 25-17).
 
With the split, NJCU is 8-5 overall and 4-1 in the Skyline, in second place behind the Cougars who were 16-0 and 4-0 Skyline at the completion of the afternoon. Sage dropped to 4-8 overall and 2-3 in the league following its second 3-1 loss to NJCU this year.

NJCU's match against Kean marked the first time in program history the Gothic Knights have faced the No. 1 ranked team in the AVCA Division III Top 15 national poll after playing a nationally No. 2 ranked team for the first time in April 2014.
 The top-ranked Cougars led wire-to-wire in the first and third sets and hit .346 as a team in the first of three matches played on the afternoon. Kean held a 41-17 margin in kills as five different players tallied at least five winners and the Cougars served 13 service aces in the sweep while rejecting 8.0 blocks. 
Ron Dunn paced the Cougars with 37 assists and four aces while Jacob Kauffman finished with a match-high 11 kills and hit .409 (11-2-22) with six digs.
 
NJCU was led by junior outside hitter Daque Wilcox (Camden, NJ/Camden County Tech) with five kills. Rookie setters John Leon (Guatemala City, Guatemala/Colegio Interamericano de Guatemala) and Eric Maldonado (Jersey City, NJ/County Prep) each tallied seven assists.
 
Also for Kean, Ed Jedziniak totaled nine kills and two blocks and Kyle Farley hit .625 with six kills (6-1-8), four blocks and two aces. Tommy Rosario hit .417 with seven kills (7-2-12) and three blocks.
 
Reigning Skyline Player of the Year Bez Arslani, who was a two-time First-Team All-Skyline selection as a freshman and sophomore when he played for NJCU, entered the match ranked No. 1 in Division III in points per set (5.05), second in kills per set (4.33) and 12th in hitting percentage (.366), but was limited to five kills at a .231 percentage (5-2-13) with two blocks in his fourth meeting with his former club. Arslani did have four aces.
 
Kean hit .444 in the opening set with 16 kills (16-4-27), posted a .348 percentage in game two with 12 winners (12-4-23) and capped the match with 13 kills. Kean jumped out to a 9-2 lead in game one and used a 6-0 run in the second set to pull away from a 7-7 deadlock. The Cougars scored the first eight points of the third set.
 Freshman middle Jalen Sorrell (Edison, NJ/John P. Stevens), last week's AVCA Division III National Player of the Week, reached double figures in kills for the first time, smashing a career-best 13 as the Knights posted an important season sweep of the Gators—a team annually in contention with NJCU for a Skyline Tournament berth. NJCU had 48 kills and 13 aces in the win.
 Sorrell hit .333 with a 13-5-24 line, three blocks and two aces and Maldonado delivered 37 assists, three kills at a .429 rate (3-0-7) and four digs. NJCU junior opposite Kendall Tribbett (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional) stuffed six blocks, including four solo rejections and had five kills.
 

Also for NJCU, sophomore middle hitter Sheldon Coure (Redondo Beach, CA/Redondo Union) hit .500 with eight kills (8-2-12), six digs and four aces. Wilcox hit .333 with nine kills (9-2-21), nine digs and two aces. Junior Nick Poh (Richmond, VA/Varina) put away nine kills at a .300 percentage (9-3-20), adding four aces. Junior defensive specialist Raymel Castro (Newark, NJ/Barringer) defended eight digs.
 
Bailey Cecchi was the Gators' top offensive performer with 13 kills and a .167 rate (13-8-30) with six digs and two blocks. Tyler Bastos finished with 28 assists, eight digs and four kills (.375, 4-1-8). Robert Fitzpatrick totaled 12 digs and eight kills.
 
There were seven ties in game one and the clubs were tied at 18-18 before NJCU committed three consecutive attack errors which allowed the Gators to claim a 22-18 margin. NJCU battled back to close within 22-21 before a kill and a block by Cecchi on consecutive points pushed the lead to 24-21. NJCU used a Sorrell kill and a Sage error to cut it to 24-23 before committing an attack error on game point.
 
NJCU never trailed in the second set and tied 7-7, pulled away for a 15-9 lead before winning comfortably by 10 points. NJCU hit .435 in the game with 12 kills (12-2-23).
 
The Knights were even more efficient in game three, posting 14 kills at a .478 percentage (14-3-23). Leading 16-15 midway through the set, NJCU scored the next four points and moved ahead 20-15 on an ace by Maldonado, winning by seven.
 
NJCU led wire-to-wire in the fourth game, dominating the period. NJCU scored the first five points and surged out to a 10-1 advantage. Leading 22-17 after two Coure kills in a span of three points, the First-Team All-Skyline standout capped the night with an exclamation mark as Coure unleashed back-to-back-to-back service aces to close the door.
 
OF NOTE:

• Series vs. Kean: Cougars leads, 10-0.
• Series vs. Sage: NJCU leads, 5-4.
• NJCU defeated Sage, 3-1 (27-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-21) in Albany on February 14.

 
WHAT'S NEXT?
On Monday, March 2, NJCU will travel to Brooklyn, NY for a makeup match against Medgar Evers College (0-12) at 7 p.m. The match was originally scheduled to be played in Jersey City on February 9. Medgar has lost 89 consecutive matches; its last win was a 3-2 win over Webb on March 19, 2011. NJCU leads the all-time series, 6-0 (four sweeps). It will be the first meeting between the clubs since February 1, 2009. The only other meeting in Brooklyn was a 3-1 win on February 7, 2004.