JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University needed a pair of wins to move back into playoff contention in the Skyline Conference standings but settled for a split as the Gothic Knights breezed past Sarah Lawrence College, 3-0, before falling to The Sage Colleges, also 3-0, in two Skyline matches during a home tri-match on April 1 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center ('Coach Charlie Brown Court').
 
NJCU needed less than 50 minutes to sweep Sarah Lawrence, 3-0 (25-12, 25-14, 25-7) before falling to Sage, 25-14, 25-23, 25-17. The Gothic Knights are 11-14 overall and 3-3 in the league after the two matches. The Gators went 2-0 on the day, sweeping Sarah Lawrence in the second of three matches, 3-0 (25-6, 25-9, 25-16).
 
MATCH 1: New Jersey City 3, Sarah Lawrence 0 (25-12, 25-14, 25-7)
NJCU led wire-to-wire in all three sets and chalked up a 26-4 differential in the kills column in a match that lasted just 49 minutes. NJCU hit .250 overall (26-12-56) and forced 19 attack errors as the Gryphons (0-17, 0-6 Skyline) posted a -.300 attack rate (4-19-50). NJCU landed 14 service aces as a team.
 
For the second consecutive match, freshman outside J.J. Berdecia (West New York, N.J./Memorial) reached double figures in kills in just three sets, equaling his career high with 10 kills for a .692 attack percentage (.10-1-13), while adding a pair of aces. Freshman middle hitter Jonathan Andrews (Palisades Park, N.J./North Bergen) uncorked five aces, hit .600 with four kills in five attempts (one error) and contributed three blocks.
 
Also for NJCU, freshman setter Jimmy Vega (Harrison, N.J./Harrison) collected 22 assists and two aces. Freshman middle Christian Ramirez (West New York, N.J./Memorial) tacked on three more aces.
 
The Gryphons were hitting -.312 after two sets (2-12-32) and NJCU had an 18-2 margin in kills. NJCU jumped in front 15-3 in game as Ramirez served three aces over a span of four points. Game three was NJCU's best at the net, hitting .615 as a team with eight kills without an error in 13 swings. NJCU committed 12 attack errors over the first two sets. NJCU finished with a 67 percent sideout rate (23-34); SLC was 22-75 on sideouts (29%).
 
MATCH 2: Sage 3, Sarah Lawrence 0 (25-6, 25-9, 25-16)
In a neutral court match, Sage (13-12, 3-2 Skyline) hit .441 with a 35-14 margin in kills in a match that lasted just 40 minutes. Sage never trailed in the three sets and had an attack line of 35-9-59, while holding SLC to a -.097 attack (14-20-62). Sage had a 75 percent sideout rate in the win (25-33); the Gryphons just 31 percent (23-73).
 
Jarod Martel (Albany, N.Y.) was the top Gator, hitting .769 with 11 kills in 13 swings (one error), adding two aces. Sophomore setter Austin Laverty (Schenectady, N.Y.) delivered 28 assists and five aces.  Freshman William Rivera (Springfield, Mass.) had nine digs. Freshman Jared Almy (Howes Cave, N.Y.) chipped in seven digs and six kills and a .364 attack rate (6-2-11). Sarah Lawrence had just five kills combined in the first two sets before planting nine in game three. Sophomore outside Callan Moor (Los Angeles, Calif.) led the Gryphons (0-18, 0-7 Skyline) with six kills.
 
MATCH 3: Sage 3, New Jersey City 0 (25-14, 25-23, 25-17)
NJCU led 21-18 in the second set with a chance to tie the match before Sage battled back to take five of the final six points for a commanding 2-0 lead and pulled away in game three. With the win, Sage jumped over NJCU for the final berth in the Skyline standings with three league matches remaining for each school.
 
Sage hit .325 and put away 39 kills, including 17 in the second game. The Gators had a line of 39-14-77 and were led by junior outside Bailey Cecchi (Agawam, Mass.) with 14 kills at a .379 percentage (14-3-29) and two aces.
 
Freshman right side Julian Moreira (Miami, Fla./Alonzo and Tracy Mourning Biscayne Bay Campus) led NJCU with 10 kills (10-7-25) while Berdecia contributed six kills (.286) and three blocks.
 
For Sage, Laverty tallied 36 assists in 71 attempts (.507) and junior pin hitter Ryan Guyton (Lockport, N.Y.) hit .467 with a near double-double, finishing with nine kills (9-2-15) and 11 digs. Freshman middle Shane Wenz (Valatie, N.Y.) added a .429 attack and four kills (4-1-7) with two blocks in two sets.
 
For the Knights, Vega finished with 23 assists and Andrews collected five kills and three blocks. Ramirez had two blocks and sophomore libero David Penaherrera (Harrison, NJ/Harrison) added eight digs.
 
The Gators burst out to an 11-2 lead in game one, thanks to its blocking and six NJCU attack errors. Cecchi landed an ace in the back corner and then unloaded another on the next serve for a 15-5 edge before winning 25-14.
 
In game two, a resounding kill by Moreira and a block by Berdecia and Ramirez gave NJCU a 4-1 lead. In a set with seven ties and five lead changes, Sage rallied and took the lead 8-7, on three straight kills by Cecchi. A combo block by Andrews and Vega put NJCU back on top and Moreira killed a ball off the block from the backrow (11-9). Another combo block by Berdecia and Ramirez made the lead 16-13. After Sage cut it to one, Berdecia had a kill off the block (20-17). After a huge NJCU double block was negated by net contact, Moreira answered with a cross court kill for a 21-18 advantage. Sage drew within one (21-20) on a block by Cecchi and freshman middle Tyler Schnaible (Ballston Lake, N.Y.). Cecchi tipped a kill over the block and an NJCU error tied it 22-22. Senior opposite Chris MacArthur (Ancram, N.Y.) tipped a kill into the middle of the court to give Sage back the lead (23-22). A ball handling error (24-23) made it a one-point game but Cecchi snuck a kill through the block on set point as Sage pulled out a 25-23 decision.
 
As it did in set one, Sage led from start to finish. It opened up a 12-5 lead when Laverty and Wenz blocked a ball and Laverty, Guyton and Cecchi had consecutive kills. NJCU was not able to get close than five the rest of the game.
 
OF NOTE:

• Series vs. Sarah Lawrence: NJCU leads, 6-0 (six sweeps).
• Series vs. Sage: Sage leads, 8-5. Sage also defeated NJCU, 3-1, on February 4 on a neutral court.
• Julian Moreira reached double figures in kills for the 13th time in 25 matches.
• The matches were the final home contests of the 2017 season. NJCU was 5-3 at home this season.

 
WHAT'S NEXT?
NJCU will play three final Skyline Conference matches next week to try to extend its season. The Knights visit Ramapo College in Mahwah, N.J. on Tuesday, April 4 before facing Mount Saint Vincent and Kean in a Skyline tri-match at Mount Saint Vincent in Riverdale, N.Y. on Friday, April 7. The match with Ramapo will be the 64th meeting; the Roadrunners lead the all-time series, 52-11, and have won the last 23 meetings since 2006.