MORRISTOWN, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | The New Jersey City University men's volleyball team (8-15) split a non-conference tri-match on March 31, losing to SUNY Poly, 3-0 (25-11, 25-19, 25-19) before knocking off host College of Saint Elizabeth, also by a 3-0 outcome (25-18, 25-20, 25-15).
 
MATCH 1: SUNYIT 3, New Jersey City 0 (25-11, 25-19, 25-19)
In the first meeting between the schools in six years, the Wildcats (10-14) hit .338 as a team and received contributions across the board offensively as no player had more than seven kills while eight produced three or more kills. SUNYIT never trailed in any set and were only tied four times in the match.
 
Senior setter Piotr Kasza (Queens, N.Y.) paced the Wildcats with 36 assists and two blocks as SUNYIT hit .338 with 38 kills and only 11 errors (80 attempts).
 
Junior outside hitter Max Szuba (Irondequoit, N.Y.) had 10 digs, seven kills and four service aces while junior outside Ryan Gloff (Brockport, N.Y.) had six kills in seven attempts, hitting .714. Freshman libero Andrew Bertino (Spencerport, N.Y.) defended 12 digs.
 
Freshman setter Luis Ayala (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth) tallied 14 assists for NJCU, which hit .025 as a team with 21 kills but 19 attack errors.
 
SUNYIT had a 100 percent sideout rate in game one (12-12) when it hit .522 with 13 kills (13-1-23). SUNYIT had 12 kills overall in game two and 13 in game three. The Wildcats had a 78 percent sideout rate for the match (40-51).
 
MATCH 2: New Jersey City 3, Saint Elizabeth 0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-15)
NJCU had a 36-19 differential in kills and swept the host Eagles (4-18) in the nightcap. Sophomore middle blocker Julian Moreira (Miami, FL/Alonzo and Tracy Mourning Biscayne Bay Campus) powered the way with 10 kills—his 25th career double-digit kills effort—hitting .273 (10-4-22) and three Gothic Knights produced double digits in digs.
 
Junior libero David Penaherrera (Harrison, NJ/Harrison) defended 14 digs. Ayala surpassed 30 assists for the second time as a collegiate, collecting his first career double-double. He distributed 31 assists with a career-high 11 digs.
 
Also for NJCU, sophomore outside Edgar Crespo (Newark, NJ/Science Park) tallied 10 digs and hit .385 with eight kills (8-3-13) and a pair of aces. Rookie right side Joseph Stawicki (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) finished with seven kills and two blocks and freshman middle Dave Etienne (Jersey City, NJ/Dickinson) contributed six kills.
 
For CSE, freshman setter Chino Singalivo (Newark, N.J.) provided 15 assists and seven digs. Freshman outside Yamere Edwards (Paterson, N.J.) defended 12 digs and freshman middle Emmanuel Adam (Orange, N.J.) totaled seven kills.
 
NJCU reached double figures in kills in all three sets, highlighted by 14 in game one when it set the tone for the match. CSE was limited to an .023 attack percentage for the contest (19-17-86).
 
In set one, NJCU scored five straight points behind the serving of Moreira to stake itself to a 6-4 lead. When CSE pulled within one (12-11), NJCU uncorked a 7-0 run for a 19-11 lead and extended the streak to 11-1 to gain a 23-12 advantage. During the 7-0 run, NJCU smashed seven consecutive kills—all by Moreira (four) and Stawicki (three). Even with the Eagles scoring the next six points to make it interesting at 23-18, kills by Stawicki and Crespo sealed the win.
 
A 16-11 lead in game two was challenged when CSE scored four straight points—three off Gothic Knight attack errors. But a solo block by Etienne, two kills by Crespo and an ace by Etienne pushed the lead back to four (21-17), Crespo added another kill (22-18) and the Knights won the set by five.
 
The Knights led wire-to-wire in game three, seizing a 10-4 lead. Up 17-14, NJCU closed the match with an 8-1 run, including the final five points, winning on a smash by Moreira.

 
 NOTABLES:

• Series vs. SUNYIT: NJCU still leads, 3-1. First meeting since March 24, 2012 in Beverly, Mass.
• Series vs. Saint Elizabeth: NJCU leads, 2-0. NJCU also won the first-ever meeting between the teams on February 6 in Jersey City, 25-23, 25-14, 25-18.
• Julian Moreira (Miami, FL/Alonzo and Tracy Mourning Biscayne Bay Campus) has reached double figures in kills 25 times in 49 matches in his NJCU career.
• David Penaherrera (Harrison, NJ/Harrison) has defended 10+ digs in a match 28 times in his 84-match career.
• Edgar Crespo (Newark, NJ/Science Park) defended 10+ digs for the ninth time in his career and sixth time this season.

 
UP NEXT:
NJCU plays its final home match of the season at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (Coach Charlie Brown Court) when it hosts the College of Staten Island on Thursday, April 5 at 7 p.m. Since it began in 2015, NJCU leads the all-time Bayonne Bridge Series' by a 4-0 margin, all via 3-0 sweeps. Follow on live stats at: www.sidearmstats.com/njcu/mvball/.
 
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