JERSEY CITY, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | A No. 12 ranked New York University squad hit .443 as a team with twice as many kills and only seven attack errors and the Violets used an evenly distributed offense to sweep a non-conference men's volleyball match from New Jersey City University, 3-0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-10) on February 25 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (Coach Charlie Brown Court).
 
NYU improved to 7-6 (won 2) while the Gothic Knights (8-9) drop their third straight to fall below .500 for the first time this season. Six of the nine losses have come against nationally ranked opponents—#3 Rutgers-Newark, then #14 Wentworth, then #14 Hunter, #1 Springfield, #6 Stevens and #12 NYU—with a match with No. 2 ranked and 2015 national semifinalist SUNY New Paltz on the schedule next week.
 
NYU had 38 kills in 70 attempts with just the seven errors while the Knights were limited to 19 kills and 17 errors (.028).
 
The Violets national roster, which features players from eight states, including 10 from California, was led by junior outside hitter Chase Klein (Pacific Palisades, CA). He was the lone starter to play the entire match and hit .562 with 10 kills (10-1-16) Senior opposite Colin LaPorte (Manhattan Beach, CA) hit .714 with five kills (no errors) in seven tries in two sets. Junior opposite Will Kozloski (Glenview, IL) came off the bench to hit .545 with six kills (6-0-11) and five digs in two sets.
 
Sophomore libero Benjamin Oxnard (Yorba Linda, CA) contributed nine digs in three sets. Junior setter Derrick Chiu (Cupertino, CA) had 12 assists in game one, with junior Patrick Merrick (Yardley, PA) notching 15 assists in the final two games in 28 attempts (.536).
 
On a tough night, senior outside hitter Sheldon Coure (Redondo Beach, CA/Redondo Union) had three kills and two aces. Sophomore middle hitter Jalen Sorrell (Edison, NJ/John P. Stevens) finished with five kills.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
In set one, the Violets hit .355 as a team and had more than twice the kills (15-7) while siding out at a 77 percent rate (17-22). Neither team had a block in the offensive contest.  The Violets evenly spread the wealth with four different players having either three or four kills. LaPorte hit .600 (3-0-5) and sophomore middle Chase Corbette (Manhattan Beach, CA) was .500 (2-0-4). NYU led 13-9 when senior outside Nick Benson (Litchfield Park, AZ) put an overball straight down and a carry made it a five-point lead. Two errors allowed the Knights and an out of rotation error on the Violets trimmed it to 21-18. LaPorte had a powerful smash on the right side before Sorrell answered (22-19). When NJCU failed to attack an over ball, Klein put away a winner (23-19). Kills by Corbett and Klein sealed a 25-21 win.
 
In game two, back-to-back blocks by Corbett and an accurate offense allowed NYU to jump out to a 9-2 lead. The margin would increase to 17-8 as NYU's reserves began entering the match. A starter, Klein, had a putaway on the outside as the lead reached double digits (23-13). The Violets hit a sky-high .600 in the game with 10 kills in 15 attempts (one error) while siding out at an 80 percent rate (12-15). NJCU was just 12-of-25 on sideout opportunities in the game (47 percent). Klein led NYU with four kills on five swings in the win (.800). NYU was hitting .435 after two games with 25 kills and only five attack errors (46 attempts).
 
In game three, a kill on two by Merrick and a solo block by freshman middle Brendan Duggan (Newton, MA) made it a 12-5 lead before two Sorrell kills and a pair of NYU errors cut it to 12-8. But several NJCU attack errors allowed the Violets to pull away. NYU scored the next four points (16-8). After a timeout, Kozloski put away a set that sailed over the net (17-8). A double block and an NJCU rotation error made it 20-9. Kozloski ripped an ace off the tape (23-10) followed by his kill (24-10) before NYU won 25-10.
 
#KnightNotes

• 7th meeting. NYU leads the all-time series, 6-1, and has won the last six meetings.

 
#NextKnightTime:
In matches two and three of a five-match homestand, the Gothic Knights host the College of Staten Island and Keuka College on Saturday, February 27 in a tri-match beginning at 10 a.m. NJCU will face Staten Island (4-7) in the opening match before meeting Keuka (7-4) in the third contest. NJCU defeated Staten Island, 3-0 (25-15, 25-7, 27-25) in the first meeting between the teams last season (February 5, 2015) in Staten Island, NY. Meanwhile, the Wolfpack, members of the North Eastern Athletic Conference, will face Kean on Friday before the tri-match in Jersey City. In the first-ever meeting between the schools last season (April 3, 2015) in Keuka Park, NY, the Wolfpack prevailed, 3-0 (25-14, 25-23, 25-23).