BOSTON, Mass. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) |  The New Jersey City University men's volleyball team made the program's first-ever visit to Boston and left with a split as the Gothic Knights knocked off Regis College (Mass.), 3-0, before falling to host and No. 14 ranked Wentworth Institute of Technology by the same 3-0 outcome on February 6.
 
NJCU (4-2) defeated Regis (0-6) in the first-ever meeting between the schools, 25-20, 25-21, 28-26. The host Leopards (7-4), ranked No. 14 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 15 poll, edged NJCU, 25-15, 25-13, 25-21.
 
MATCH 1: New Jersey City University 3, Regis College 0 (25-20, 25-21, 28-26)
NJCU hit .321 (35-9-81) as a team led by a sensational effort from senior outside Daque Wilcox (Fredericksburg, VA/Camden County Tech, NJ) as the Gothic Knights swept the non-conference opener.
 
Wilcox smashed a match-high 13 kills and hit .600 (13-1-20) with four of NJCU's seven aces. Wilcox reached double figures in kills for the 11th time in his career and the 13 winners are a personal best for a three-set match.
 
Senior right side/setter Kendall Tribbett (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional) added five kills in 15 swings without an error (.333), adding eight assists. Senior outside hitter Sheldon Coure (Redondo Beach, CA/Redondo Union), who had never defended more than six digs in a match, provided a career-high 10 while adding six kills.
 
Also for the Knights, freshman setter Erick Nascimento (Miami, FL/Alonzo Tracy Mourning) tallied 22 assists and two aces. Freshman middle hitter Marquise Sanon (Newark, NJ/Shiloh (Snellville, GA)) hit .667 with four kills (4-0-6).
 

The Pride were led by 11 kills from Marcos Aguirre, who hit .263 (11-6-19). Joe Hanrahan (27 assists) and Drew Beimel (10 digs, two blocks) also contributed. Brett Krahl finished with three blocks and five kills.
 
NJCU hit .478 in the opening set with 12 kills (12-1-23). After several ties midway through the set, NJCU held a slim 19-18 lead before scoring five consecutive points—highlighted by three aces by Wilcox. A Tribbett kill clinched the win.
 
There were 11 ties in the second set. NJCU trailed 18-17 before scoring four consecutive points—including a pair of kills by Wilcox—and six of the next seven points for a 23-19 margin.  
 
The Knights posted a .303 attack percentage in game three with 14 winners (14-4-33) when there were again 11 ties. NJCU had match point at 24-23, 25-24 and 26-25 but Regis staved it off each time. But tied 26-26, the Pride were forced into a pair of attack errors and a solo block by sophomore middle hitter Jalen Sorrell (Edison, NJ/John P. Stevens) sealed it.
 
MATCH 2: Wentworth Institute of Technology 3, New Jersey City University 0 (25-15, 25-13, 25-21)
In the second meeting against a nationally ranked team in a week, the Leopards hit an impressive .424 as a team with 36 kills and 13 aces in the non-conference sweep.
 
Wentworth hit .333 or better in each set and limited the red-hot Gothic Knights to a .094 attack rate and 20 kills.
 
Jon Roat led the way for Wentworth with 10 kills and a .571 attack prowess (10-2-14) and Jake Reed put away eight kills in 12 swings (one error) with a .583 percentage. Alex Potts contributed seven kills at a .400 clip (7-3-10) and landed five aces while Sean Mullen finished with six kills (.300, 6-3-10) and four aces. Kevin McPeek handed out 29 assists.
 
Tribbett was NJCU's top performer, hitting .714 with five kills in seven swings (no errors), seven assists and three blocks, including two solo. Coure had six kills, hitting .231 (6-3-13). Nascimento had 12 assists.
 
The Leopards hit .444 in the opener with 12 kills (12-4-18) and a 75 percent sideout rate. WIT jumped out to an 8-2 lead. NJCU closed the gap to 12-9 before the Leopards pulled away with five of the next six points behind two aces and a kill by Potts for a 17-10 cushion before winning, 25-15. Wentworth led wire-to-wire in game two, siding out at a 92 percent rate.
 
In game three, the hosts hit .462 and notched 16 kills (16-4-26). When NJCU led 7-6, the Leopards scored the next four points, including a pair of kills from Reed, before two kills by Roat and an ace by Reed extended the lead to 14-9. NJCU would draw as close as three at 16-13 at 24-21 before Wentworth clinched the 25-21 decision.
 
#KnightNotes

• First meeting between NJCU and Regis.
• 11th meeting between NJCU and Wentworth (first in Boston). Wentworth leads the all-time series, 6-5.

 
#NextKnightTime:
NJCU is off until Thursday, February 11 when it faces The City College of New York (7 p.m.) in New York, NY. NJCU won the last non-conference meeting between the schools on March 3, 2015 in Jersey City, 3-2 (25-23, 25-17, 25-27, 23-25, 15-9) and leads the all-time series, 24-6. The Knights have won 14 of the last 15 meetings between the schools.