JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Sophomore Leo Ferrari (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) had a brilliant effort in his first-ever match at the setter position to lead the New Jersey City University men's volleyball to a 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-13) non-conference victory over Cairn University on January 28 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (Coach Charlie Brown Court). With the win, Carlo Edra won his first match in the first season of his second stint as Gothic Knight head coach (and career win No. 66 overall).
 
NJCU (1-1) hit .233 as a team as Ferrari, who made the transition from outside hitter where he started last season to setter this year—a move Edra and the coaching staff put in place during the offseason. Ferrari quarterbacked NJCU to a .233 attack percentage and 32 kills, finishing with 25 assists and six of NJCU's 14 service aces. Cairn fell to 0-5 on the season.
 

Freshman right side Martin Chromulak (Garfield, NJ/Garfield) had a standout effort in his collegiate debut as the 6-foot-7 rookie hit .350 with 11 kills (11-4-20), five digs and three aces. Junior outside hitter Jonathan Andrews (North Bergen, NJ/North Bergen) matched him with 11 kills, hitting .280 with three blocks and two aces. Junior middle blocker Christian Ramirez (West New York, NJ/Memorial) contributed four blocks while freshman James Bajor (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) moved from right side to outside with Ferrari's switch to setter, and put away four kills in seven swings to hit .429.
 
Senior outside Caleb Myers (Diosd, Hungary) had nearly half of the Highlanders' offensive production, finishing with 10 of their 21 kills, hitting .208 (10-5-24). Junior setter Scott Bassill (Havertown, Pa.) finished with 15 assists and two blocks.
 
NJCU hit .364 in the opening set with 12 kills (12-4-22) and after coming back to earth offensively in the second game, unleashed a .421 percentage in the final set, landing 11 kills (11-3-19).
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• SET 1: Down 5-4, NJCU scored eight of the next 11 points to seize a 12-9 lead. Back-to-back aces by Ferrari helped fuel four straight points for a 16-9 lead and the run extended to 7-1 for a commanding 19-10 advantage as Andrews landed a kill and an ace. Cairn got as close as 23-19 before Andrews and Chromulak finished the set with back-to-back swings.
• SET 2: Cairn jumped out to a 4-0 lead before NJCU bounced back claiming a 9-7 lead after a 5-0 run highlighted by a kill and ace by Ferrari and kills from Chromulak and Andrews. Cairn tied it at 9-9 before the Knights responded again with a decisive 10-2 run to grab a 19-11 advantage and a double block by Ramirez and Andrews pushed the lead to 21-12. NJCU won by seven points for a 2-0 lead.
• SET 3: Up 11-10 in the third set, NJCU ignited again, scoring four in a row as Chromulak, Bajor, and Ramirez all put away kills and Chromulak added an ace. NJCU scored the final five points of the match, ultimately reeling off a 14-3 outburst to end the night.

 
NOTABLES:

• Series: 19th meeting. Cairn leads the all-time series, 15-4. Cairn had won nine of the last 10 meetings until NJCU prevailed.
• Andrews reached double figures in kills for the second time this year and 10th time in his career.

 
UP NEXT:
 

• NJCU plays its first road match of the season on Thursday, January 30 when it visits Baruch College in New York, N.Y. at 7 p.m. It will be the 31st meeting. The all-time series is even, 15-15; Baruch has won the last five meetings.

 
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