JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University had as many kills in the second set as St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) had in the entire match and the Gothic Knights swept the non-conference matchup on March 21, 3-0 (25-20, 25-13, 25-17), at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (Coach Charlie Brown Court).
 
NJCU snapped a three-match skid and improves to 8-10 overall. The Knights pounded 40 kills in the match to 18 for the Bears (1-15) and hit .231 as a team.
 
After a shaky first set that forced the Knights to come from four points down and use a five-point spurt late in the set to pull away, NJCU led wire-to-wire in game two when it pounded 18 kills and hit .361 (18-5-36).
 
Freshman middle hitter Jeffry Rodriguez (Elizabeth, NJ/John E. Dwyer Technology AcademyElizabeth, N.J. (John E. Dwyer Technology Academy) continued his standout play, hitting .500 with a career-high nine kills (9-2-14). Sophomore outside hitter Jonathan Andrews (North Bergen, NJ/North Bergen) hit .467 with eight kills (8-1-15), seven digs and two aces.
 
Also for NJCU, junior Julian Moreira (Miami, FL/Alonzo and Tracy Mourning Biscayne Bay Campus), who played right side, outside and middle in the match, had seven kills and three blocks and sophomore middle Christian Ramirez (West New York, NJ/Memorial) tacked on seven kills and three blocks. Junior libero J.J. Berdecia (West New York, NJ/Memorial) passed 10 digs in two sets.
 
Junior setter Jimmy Vega (Harrison, NJ/Harrison) and freshman Aaron Mantilla (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) each had 16 assists and Mantilla finished with a pair of aces. Freshman outside Leo Ferrari (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) finished with five kills, hitting .214.
 
Trailing by one early in the third set, NJCU scored six consecutive points—a kill by Andrews and Moreira, back-to-back blocks from Ramirez and Moreira, and a kill by Ramirez, before pulling away.
 
Senior outside Tim Driscoll (Staten Island, N.Y.) was the top performer for SJCBK, landing seven kills with six digs. Three players accounted for all 18 team kills.
 
OF NOTE:

• Series: Fifth meeting. NJCU leads 5-0 and last won each match, 3-0.
• It was J.J. Berdecia's (West New York, NJ/Memorial) 14th career effort of double figure digs and his third as a libero—all this season. It was the fifth time he has had double figure digs in just three sets or less.
• Jeffry Rodriguez (Elizabeth, NJ/John E. Dwyer Technology AcademyElizabeth, N.J. (John E. Dwyer Technology Academy)' previous career high was seven kills on two occasions.

 
UP NEXT:
NJCU hits the road tomorrow (Friday, March 22) at 7 p.m. when it meets York College (NY) in Jamaica, Queens, N.Y. The Cardinals are 3-17 on the season. NJCU leads the all-time series, 22-6, and has won 19 of the last 20 meetings. It will be the 29th meeting.
 
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