Box Score JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | The New Jersey City University men's volleyball team (5-6) bounced back from a home loss on Tuesday to sweep the Dolphins of the College of Mount Saint Vincent (1-5) on February 28 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center. The Gothic Knights held off the Dolphins in the first set; dominated in the second set; and came back to win in the third set of their 3-0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-21) sweep of CMSV at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (Coach Charlie Brown Court).
 
The Knights were led by a balanced attack all night, showing off their depth against a Dolphins side with just eight players on their roster. NJCU served 14 aces as a team and hit .240 with three times as many kills as CMSV (39-13).
 
The Knights got kills from nine different players, with sophomore right side/setter Alexander Umanzor (West New York, NJ/Memorial) leading the way with nine of his own, a .500 attack percentage (9-2-14), seven assists and two aces. Sophomore outside hitter Jonathan Andrews (North Bergen, NJ/North Bergen) had a very strong match overall, stuffing the stat sheet with nine digs, six aces, five kills, and a .455 hitting percentage (5-0-11). Freshman setter Aaron Mantilla (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) was the metronome for the offense, with 14 assists, while Andrews led NJCU in aces and digs.
 

Also for NJCU, four-time New Jersey Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week Leo Ferrari (Kearny, NJ/Kearny), sophomore middle hitter Christian Ramirez (West New York, NJ/Memorial) and sophomore right side Joseph Stawicki (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) each had six kills.
 
The first set was a bit of a wonky one, as the Knights came out aggressive, but the Dolphins seemed content to sit back and try to force the Knights into errors. The ploy worked for a bit, as the Dolphins were within one midway through the game (16-15), with a couple of absurd defensive plays off the ceiling and elevated basketball hoops extending a few rallies. The ball stopped bouncing the CMSV way by the end of the set, however, as the Knights took six of the final seven points to win the first set, 25-18.
 
In the second, the Dolphins looked overmatched, as the Knights put together some of their best play of the season, attacking aggressively, with beautiful sets leading to those kills. They also figured out that the Dolphins were simply trying to get them to make mistakes, so they cut those out, making just two errors for the entire second set, winning easily, 25-12. NJCU had a 92 percent sideout rate in the game (12-13).
 
Through two sets, the Knights had 22 kills and just nine errors, compared to only five kills and six errors from the Dolphins.
 
NJCU got some fresh faces on for the third, and the Dolphins seemed to amp up their attack in response. CMSV got out to an 18-14 lead before NJCU head coach Jorge Rodriguez put in a few of his killers to bring the match home. As a result, the Knights ended the game (and match) on an 11-4 run to cap the sweep. Freshman middle Jeffry Rodriguez (Elizabeth, NJ/John E. Dwyer Technology AcademyElizabeth, N.J. (John E. Dwyer Technology Academy) had a particularly strong third set, hitting .400.
 
For the Dolphins, Jose Estrella (Yonkers, NY) and Brendan Ryan (Cedar Run, NJ) led the way with six kills each, while Padelis Astrinidis (Flushing, NY) led the way with 10 assists. Tim Donnelly (Smithtown, NY) had a match-leading 10 digs.
   
OF NOTE:

• 55th meeting. NJCU leads all-time series, 30-25, and they broke a three-match losing streak against the Dolphins.

 
UP NEXT:
NJCU heads to Keuka Park, New York for the Keuka College Invitational on Saturday, as the Knights will face the host Wolves and John Jay on Saturday at 2:00 and 4:00 p.m., respectively, before meeting Pratt Institute on Sunday at 11:00 a.m.
 
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