NEW PALTZ, NY (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | The New Jersey City University men's volleyball team gave all No. 2 ranked SUNY New Paltz it could handle in the first two sets before ultimately succumbing to the accurate attack of the Hawks, 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-14) in a non-conference match on March 2.
 
New Paltz (15-2) won its 13th consecutive match by hitting .434 overall with 32 kills (32-9-53). Its attack percentage increased in each set, from .333 in game one (8-3-15) to .458 in the second set when it smashed 15 kills (15-4-24). The Hawks capped the evening with a .500 rate in the third game (9-2-14).
 
NJCU fell to 10-12 overall with seven of the 12 defeats coming at the hands of teams ranked in the AVCA Division III Top 15 national poll in what has been an aggressive schedule. New Paltz was a 2015 NCAA Division III national semifinalist.
 
Jake Roessler was the most productive Hawk, blasting a match-high 12 kills while hitting .647 (12-1-17) with two aces and two blocks. Eric Tuttle added seven kills and six digs. Setter Mitchell Kennedy chipped in 24 assists in 40 chances (.600).
 
Senior outside Daque Wilcox (Fredericksburg, VA/Camden County Tech, NJ) led NJCU with seven kills (7-3-16) and sophomore middle hitter Jalen Sorrell (Edison, NJ/John P. Stevens) added a .444 attack with five winners (5-1-9). Freshman setter Erick Nascimento (Miami, FL/Alonzo Tracy Mourning) and senior right side/setter Kendall Tribbett (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional) combined for 21 assists.
 
NP had a 73 percent sideout rate in the win (44-60), highlighted by a 13-for-15, 86 percent mark in game three when the Hawks pulled away midway through the period..
 
There were 10 ties and three lead changes in game one. In a see-saw affair, NJCU would tie it at 21-21 after back-to-back kills by senior middle Ivan Prensa (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) and Wilcox. But two kills by Tuttle sandwiched around an ace gave NP a 24-21 lead it wouldn't cough up.
 
NJCU hit .368 in the second set (9-2-19) when there were 11 more ties and five lead changes. Trailing 23-18, NJCU battled back and pulled within 23-21 on three straight kills by Wilcox, freshman middle hitter Marquise Sanon (Newark, NJ/Shiloh (Snellville, GA)) and senior outside hitter Sheldon Coure (Redondo Beach, CA/Redondo Union). But a kill by Tuttle made it 24-21 and Roessler ended it with a swing.
 
#KnightNotes

• 24th meeting. New Paltz leads the all-time series, 22-2, and has won the last 17 meetings.

 
#NextKnightTime:
NJCU, currently 4-4 in the Skyline Conference, heads back to Riverdale, NY for the second time in two weeks on Saturday, March 5 when it meets St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) at 10:30 a.m. and hosts College of Mount Saint Vincent at 3 p.m. It will be the second meeting with both schools this year. On February 14 in Brooklyn, NJCU swept St. Joseph's, 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-16), in the first-ever meeting between the clubs. On February 20 in Jersey City, Mount edged NJCU, 3-2 (25-21, 24-26, 17-25, 27-25, 15-12). It will be the 51st meeting in a series NJCU leads, 28-22.