KEUKA PARK, N.Y. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | The New Jersey City University men's volleyball team (6-7) split a pair of matches on the opening day of the Keuka College Invitational in upstate New York. NJCU won the first two sets from host Keuka before the Wolves rallied to knock off the Gothic Knights, 3-2 (20-25, 25-18, 23-25, 25-9, 15-13) in the opener. NJCU bested John Jay College in a 3-0 sweep (25-20, 25-23, 25-15) in the second match.
 
MATCH 1: Keuka 3, New Jersey City 2 (20-25, 25-18, 23-25, 25-9, 15-13)
Despite big offensive efforts from junior middle blocker Julian Moreira (Miami, FL/Alonzo and Tracy Mourning Biscayne Bay Campus) and sophomore outside hitter Jonathan Andrews (North Bergen, NJ/North Bergen), NJCU couldn't hold a 2-1 lead and fell in five sets. NJCU held a 47-39 margin in kills but committed 10 more attack errors (33-23). Keuka improved to 6-4 with the win.
 
After the teams split two competitive first sets that saw eight ties each, NJCU led wire-to-wire in game three before the Wolves cruised to a convincing win in game four, thanks to a .692 hitting percentage in the set (9-0-13) and a 89 percent sideout rate (9-10). Keuka scored eight of the final nine points.
 
That led to a fifth set which NJCU led, 8-6, when the teams switched sides and the Knights were three points away from victory (12-10). Keuka scored the next three points, including a kill from 6-foot-7 junior right side Marcus Davic (Erie, Pa. and an ace by senior outside Pat Dillon (Oswego, N.Y.). A kill by Moreira evened it at 13-13. But NJCU committed a service error and the Wolves won on a kill by Davic. Davic had only three kills in the match but two came in crunch time.
 
Moreira put away a match-high 15 kills, hitting .176, with three aces and two blocks. Andrews added 13 kills and nine digs and freshman outside and four-time New Jersey Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week Leo Ferrari (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) collected eight kills and seven digs. NJAC Defensive Player of the Week and sophomore middle Christian Ramirez (West New York, NJ/Memorial) tallied four blocks and hit .333 (4-1-9).
 
Also for NJCU, junior libero J.J. Berdecia (West New York, NJ/Memorial) finished with 11 digs and six assists. Junior setter Jimmy Vega (Harrison, NJ/Harrison) handed out 24 assists while freshman Aaron Mantilla (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) finished with 13 assists.
 
For Keuka, junior outside JP Nery (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) led the way with 11 kills and seven digs. Sophomore setter Kamred Record (Clifton Springs, N.Y.) tallied 26 assists. Sophomore middle Alex Boglev (Hamburg, N.Y) produced six kills at a .333 rate (6-2-12). Sophomore defensive specialist Seth Welker (Clifton Springs, N.Y.) defended 10 digs.
 
MATCH 2: New Jersey City 3, John Jay 0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-15)
In a well-rounded effort, NJCU improved to 19-0 against the Bloodhounds (8-10) in a match played on a neutral court. NJCU hit .322 as a team in the win (29-10-59).
 
Sophomore right side Joseph Stawicki (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) hit .600 with seven kills in 10 swings (7-1-10) and Vega handed out 27 assists. Moreira had six more kills, hitting .273 (6-3-11) and freshman middle Jeffry Rodriguez (Elizabeth, NJ/John E. Dwyer Technology AcademyElizabeth, N.J. (John E. Dwyer Technology Academy) added a .444 attack rate on five kills (5-1-9) with four blocks. Andrews (five kills) and Ferrari (four kills, four aces) all contributed to the win.
 
Freshman Alejandro Gallardo (Bronx, N.Y.) had half of the Bloodhounds kills, putting away 12 attacks. Sophomore middle Anthony Francois (Brooklyn, N.Y.) had five blocks (three solo). Sophomore setter Dylan Senkiw (Rye, N.Y.) tallied 20 assists and sophomore libero Rintaro Kato (Rockville, Md.) finished with 10 digs.
 
OF NOTE:

• Series vs. Keuka: Keuka leads, 4-0.
• Series vs. John Jay: NJCU leads, 19-0 (10-0 at home). It was the first meeting since March 26, 2015.
• Julian Moreira (Miami, FL/Alonzo and Tracy Mourning Biscayne Bay Campus) reached double figures in kills for the third time this season and the 29th time in 62 matches in his NJCU career.
• Jonathan Andrews (North Bergen, NJ/North Bergen) reached double figures in kills for the fifth time in his career and second time this season.

 
UP NEXT:
NJCU concludes the weekend with a neutral court match against Pratt Institute on Sunday, March 3 at 11:00 a.m.
 
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