JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | With snow threatening the Mid-Atlantic, the New Jersey City University men's volleyball team blanketed Purchase College with a 3-0 win. NJCU (6-9) snapped a four-match skid, hitting .323 with 41 total kills in a 25-20, 25-15, 25-15 sweep of the Panthers (5-10) on March 20 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (Coach Charlie Brown Court). NJCU never trailed at any point in the match and was tied just once.
 
Sophomore middle hitter Julian Moreira (Miami, FL/Alonzo and Tracy Mourning Biscayne Bay Campus) was masterful, hitting .429 with 11 kills (11-2-21), while rejecting five blocks and landing a pair of aces. Freshman middle Dave Etienne (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) hit .500 with eight kills (8-2-12) and rookie right side Joseph Stawicki (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) put away seven kills, hitting .294 with four blocks. Freshman right side Alexander Umanzor (West New York, NJ/Memorial) hit .467, swinging for seven kills in 15 attempts with no errors.
 
NJCU had a 41-19 margin in kills and hit a season-high .323 as a team (41-11-93) while limiting Purchase to a .024 attack. The Knights also served nine aces and combined for 6.0 blocks.
 
Sophomore setter Jimmy Vega (Harrison, NJ/Harrison) tallied 15 assists and three aces while freshman setter Luis Ayala (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth) added 14 assists in 29 attempts (.483) and two aces. Sophomore outside hitter Edgar Crespo (Newark, NJ/Science Park) contributed a match-high 13 digs. Junior libero David Penaherrera (Harrison, NJ/Harrison) finished with nine digs.
 
In defeat, senior Christopher Williams (Valley Stream, N.Y.) had 17 assists and sophomore outside Masaya Funakoshi (Tarrytown, N.Y.) defended 10 digs. Junior middle Luke Kubisch (Delmar, N.Y.) collected seven kills and sophomore right side Andreo Otiniano (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) finished with seven kills and eight digs.
 
NJCU jumped out to a 7-0 lead in game one and led comfortably the rest of the set. PC got within 19-16 late on a 5-0 run that included three straight aces by Otiniano before the Knights pulled away. NJCU had a 15-6 margin in kills in the game behind Etienne who had five kills in six swings (.833) and Moreira had four kills and three blocks.
 
Up 9-8 in game two, kills by Umanzor and Stawicki and an ace by Umanzor began a 9-2 run that allowed the Knights to cruise to a 10-point win. NJCU scored the final four points of the set, with kills by Umanzor, Stawicki and Moreira all factoring in. NJCU hit .400 in the game with another 15 kills (15-3-30).
 
Six consecutive points in the middle of the third set helped the Knights build an 18-8 lead and the hosts cruised from there.
 
QUOTABLE KNIGHTS: Post-game interview with Coach Jorge Rodriguez, Julian Moreira (Miami, FL/Alonzo and Tracy Mourning Biscayne Bay Campus) and Dave Etienne (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson): https://www.facebook.com/NJCUGothicKnights/videos/10155771012984915/

NOTABLES:

• Series vs. Purchase: 18th meeting. NJCU leads the series 16-2.
• NJCU played its first home match since February 22.
• NJCU won its 449th match in 849 matches in its 29-year history (449-400).
• NJCU had its highest attack percentage since the 2016 season.

 
UP NEXT:
Tomorrow's home match with Yeshiva University is cancelled due to pending snowstorm. Weather-permitting, NJCU will next host Maranatha Baptist on Thursday, March 22 at 7 p.m. It will be the first-ever meeting between the programs; Maranatha is from Watertown, Wisconsin.
 
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