Box Score NEW YORK, N.Y. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | New Jersey City University (11-11) is back at .500 on the season after fending off John Jay College on the road on March 28, winning 3-1 (25-21, 28-30, 25-22, 25-21).
 
Reigning New Jersey Athletic Conference Player of the Week, sophomore outside hitter Jonathan Andrews (North Bergen, NJ/North Bergen) continued his recent run of form, collecting a match-high 16 kills and finishing with five digs as NJCU defeated John Jay College (10-17) for the second time this season. There were a combined 34 ties and 19 lead changes in the match.
 
The team as a whole collected 50 kills, with a balanced attack behind Andrews. Four other Knights had at least six kills, with reigning NJAC Rookie of the Week and freshman middle hitter Jeffry Rodriguez (Elizabeth, NJ/John E. Dwyer Technology AcademyElizabeth, N.J. (John E. Dwyer Technology Academy), chief among them, tallying nine kills and a .500 hitting percentage (9-2-14) with two blocks. Meanwhile, junior setter Jimmy Vega (Harrison, NJ/Harrison) (22 assists) and freshman setter Aaron Mantilla (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) (16 assists) split duties in the creator role for NJCU.
 
Junior right side Julian Moreira (Miami, FL/Alonzo and Tracy Mourning Biscayne Bay Campus) hit .357 with eight kills (8-3-14), sophomore middle Christian Ramirez (West New York, NJ/Memorial) hit .364 (6-2-11) and freshman outside Leo Ferrari (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) chipped in seven kills and seven digs.
 
The first game set the tone for the match—a back-and-forth affair in which neither team took a lead of more than three until the Knights took five of the final six points to pull away for the 25-21 game one win. Andrews had two kills, and Moreira had one in that final stretch.
 
The Knights jumped out early in the second set, taking leads of 5-2, 7-3, 11-6, and 14-8 before a Bloodhounds timeout. The timeout seemed to settle John Jay's nerves, as they chipped away at the lead before going on a 5-0 run after another timeout late in the set, going from down 23-19 to up 24-23, with the first set point. The two teams traded set points back and forth, with the Bloodhounds finally taking three straight points to close out the set, 30-28. JJC freshman middle Carlos Gomez (Hicksville, N.Y.) served back-to-back aces to take the set.
 
The third game was another tight one, but the Knights held the edge most of the set, with John Jay only leading twice en route to a 25-22 third game win for NJCU.
 
John Jay took the first three points of the fourth, looking to force a decisive fifth set. The Knights bounced back with four straight points and they once again led down the stretch, winning the match on a kill from Rodriguez.
 
The Bloodhounds had two players with a dozen kills. Junior outside Krystian Surdel (Rzeszow, Poland) and freshman outside Alejandro Gallardo (Bronx, N.Y.), while freshman setter Carlos Llivicura (Flushing, N.Y.)  was the metronome with 34 assists. Junior libero Godwin Sequeira (Oceanside, N.Y.) had a match-high 14 digs.
 
OF NOTE:

• All-time series: NJCU leads, 20-0 (10-0 at home).
• Jonathan Andrews (North Bergen, NJ/North Bergen) reached double figures in kills for the eighth time in his career, fifth time this season and third time in four matches.
• Jeffry Rodriguez (Elizabeth, NJ/John E. Dwyer Technology AcademyElizabeth, N.J. (John E. Dwyer Technology Academy) tied a career high with his nine kills.

 
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