BRONXVILLE, NY (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | The New Jersey City University men's volleyball team needed a sweep of its final Skyline Conference weekend tri-match on April 2 to clinch a home match in the conference quarterfinals on April 6, but will now likely need to play on the road. Ramapo College outlasted NJCU in a neutral court match, 3-1 (25-16, 25-19, 22-25, 25-23) before the Gothic Knights scored the split with a 3-0 (25-11, 25-12, 25-14) sweep of host Sarah Lawrence College.

NJCU is 18-17 and finished the league schedule with a 9-7 ledger. With Mount Saint Vincent (10-6 Skyline) sweeping a tri-match on April 3 from Purchase and Yeshiva, MSV will be the fourth seed and host NJCU in the league quarterfinals on Wednesday, April 6 in Riverdale, NY at 7 p.m. Mount won the first match of the season on February 20 in Jersey City, 3-2; NJCU answered two weeks later with a 3-1 victory over the Dolphins in Riverdale on March 5.
 
Senior middle hitter Ivan Prensa (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) continued to play sensationally in the final month of his career, posting double figures in kills in each match.
 
MATCH 1: Ramapo College 3, New Jersey City University 1 (25-16, 25-19, 22-25, 25-23)
Ramapo College hit .312 and had a 56-34 margin in kills as the Roadrunners held off NJCU in four sets.
 
Paul Close had 16 kills (16-11-38, .132) with eight digs and two blocks for Ramapo and Justin Feigeles hit .360 with 12 kills (12-3-25), seven digs and five assists.
 
Prensa led NJCU with 10 kills (.182, 10-6-22) and five block assists and sophomore middle hitter Jalen Sorrell (Edison, NJ/John P. Stevens) hit .267 with seven kills (7-3-15) and two blocks.
 
Freshman setter Erick Nascimento (Miami, FL/Alonzo Tracy Mourning) handed out 30 assists. Senior outside hitter Sheldon Coure (Redondo Beach, CA/Redondo Union) had seven kills, six digs and three block assists.  Freshman libero David Penaherrera (Harrison, NJ/Harrison) defended 10 digs. Senior right side/setter Kendall Tribbett (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional) contributed five kills and two solo blocks.
 
Also for Ramapo, Patrick Wixted hit .500 with nine kills (9-2-15) and setter Michael Erushalimski dished 42 assists, had five kills in five attempts (1.000) and four digs and Nick Amos hit .462 with eight kills (8-2-13) and six blocks (two solo).
 
Ramapo had a 76 percent sideout rate in game one when it hit .423 (15-4-26) and had a 15-5 margin in kills when it overcame eight ties and three early lead changes to win by nine points. Tied at 14-14, Ramapo scored the next two before NJCU cut it to 16-15. But Ramapo uncorked an 8-0 run to see the lead surge to 24-15. NJCU committed five attack errors during that stretch including two Ramapo blocks by Amos.
 
RCNJ again had 15 kills in game two, hitting .345 (15-5-29) with a 73 percent sideout percentage as it led wire-to-wire in a 25-19 win.
 
NJCU battled back to take game three, 25-22, overcoming 11 ties and two lead changes. NJCU led 21-18 before Ramapo closed within one (21-20). Prensa and Coure came through with back-to-back winners for a 24-20 edge before the Knights took the game on a service error.
 
NJCU had its chance in set four to extend the match to a fifth and deciding final game. Ramapo hit .321 with 14 kills in the fourth (14-5-28). There were seven ties and three lead changes, including 19-19, before RCNJ scored the next three for a 22-19 edge. NJCU rallied and kills by Coure cut the deficit to 23-22 and 24-23. But on match point, Close put away a kill to prevent the contest from being extended.
 
MATCH 2: New Jersey City University 3, Sarah Lawrence College 0 (25-11, 25-12, 25-14)

Prensa punished the Gryphons with a scintillating .769 attack percentage as NJCU led nearly every point in the match in the 45-minute sweep. NJCU hit a collective .406 (37-11-64) with a 37-11 advantage in kills as its middles dominated.
 
Prensa had 11 kills in 13 swings with just one error in only two sets of action and rookie middle hitter Marquise Sanon (Newark, NJ/Shiloh (Snellville, GA)) hit .833 with five kills in six swings. Sorrell posted a .778 attack percentage with seven kills in nine swings (no errors) and two blocks in two sets. In all, NJCU's three middles posted a combined line of 23 kills and just one error in 28 attempts—good for a .786 attack rate from that key position.
 
Freshman opposite Gary Green Jr. (Paterson, NJ/John F. Kennedy) had six kills (.250, 6-3-12) and Nascimento finished with 20 assists and two aces. Tribbett added eight assists.
 
SLC was limited to a -.107 attack percentage (11-17-56). Callan Moor had half the offense with six kills; Richard Warke finished with nine assists.
 
NJCU had a 71 percent sideout rate in the match (27-38). It hit .333 in game one (10-3-21), .440 in game two with 16 kills (16-5-25) and .444 in the final set (11-3-18).
 
SLC scored the first point of the match then never lead again. The Knights scored the next six points for a 6-1 edge, then after the hosts got a point back, scored six more points to gain a 12-2 lead after a 12-1 run. NJCU won the opening set by 14.
 
The Knights scored the first four points of game two and later added five in a row, including three straight kills by Prensa (two) and Sorrell for a 9-3 edge. When SLC closed within four (12-8), the Gothic Knights unleashed a 9-0 outburst to seize a 21-8 margin. Prensa (three kills), Sorrell (two kills) and Sanon (one) dominated that stretch. NJCU took the game by 13 points.
 
In the third set NJCU scored at least three consecutive points at five different junctures of the game to claim the 11-point win to sweep the match.
 
#KnightNotes

• Series vs. Ramapo: 64th meeting. RCNJ leads, 52-11 and has won the last 23 meetings since 2006.
• Series vs. Sarah Lawrence: NJCU leads, 4-0 (Four sweeps).
• Ivan Prensa reached double figures in kills for the fifth and sixth time in his career—all this season—including three consecutive matches and four of the last five.
• David Penaherrera reached double figures in digs for the seventh time in the Ramapo match.
• Sheldon Coure (763 kills) now has 963.5 career points.