Box Score 1 | Box Score 3 JERSEY CITY,  N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | The New Jersey City University men's volleyball team (4-2) hosted its first tri-match of the season on Saturday, February 15 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center, sweeping the day, knocking off Brooklyn College (4-6) in a 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-9) and then coming from behind to defeat Wilkes University (7-6) in four sets, 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-23). Both matches were played at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (Coach Charlie Brown Court). It was NJCU's first action in 10 days.
 
Wilkes swept Brooklyn, 3-0 (25-7, 25-21, 25-12) in the neutral-court, second match of the afternoon. Brooklyn fell to 4-7 with the two losses.
 
Junior outside hitter Jonathan Andrews (North Bergen, NJ/North Bergen) and freshman right side Martin Chromulak (Garfield, NJ/Garfield) each had huge days for NJCU. Andrews combined for 32 kills in seven sets, hitting .278 (32-12-72) while Chromulak had 21 kills, hitting .333 (21-6-45). Freshman middle blocker Brandon DaSilva (Kearny, NJ/Kearny), the NCAA Division III leader in blocks, had 10 in seven sets while sophomore setter Leo Ferrari (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) compiled 64 assists on the day.
 
MATCH 1: NJCU 3, Brooklyn 0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-9)
In the opening match of the day, the Gothic Knights took time to warm up, but once they did, they were able to pull away from an overmatched Brooklyn side thanks to strong hitting (.395), dominance at the net (7-0 blocks advantage), as well as a strong service game (8-0 aces advantage). NJCU had a 41-21 advantage in kills as 13 different players saw time for the hosts.
 
The start of the first set was tight, however, as four different Bulldogs got kills, highlighted by three from Jasper Diangco (Brooklyn, N.Y.) to stay within shouting distance of NJCU at 10-8. However, the Knights went on a 9-3 run to power ahead, led by a balanced attack with kills from five different Knights. NJCU finished strong to take the first game 25-15 thanks to an eye-popping .552 hitting percentage.
 
In the second set, the story was much the same, with Brooklyn once again within striking distance early in the set, at 10-8. However, NJCU turned up the pressure in the latter half of the set to pull away for the 25-16 set win. Andrews had six kills in the second set alone.
 
In the third set, NJCU went to its reserves, and they impressed, steamrolling Brooklyn in a 25-9 final set. The Knights got off to a 12-1 lead thanks in part to a pair of kills from Chromulak. The Bulldogs strung together a few late points before a ball-handling error ended their day.
 
Andrews and Chromulak led the way for the Knights. Andrews hit .600 with 14 kills (14-2-20) and Chromulak slammed 11 kills, hitting .429 (11-2-21) with seven digs. DaSilva had five more blocks and hit a sizzling .636 with eight kills (8-1-11) while Ferrari paced the team with 28 assists. Seven different Knights landed an ace.
 
For the Bulldogs, Diangco had a full two-thirds of the team's kills, with 14 of their 21 total in the loss. Senior setter Michael Valentin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) had 18 assists and nine digs.
 
MATCH 2: Wilkes 3, Brooklyn 0 (25-7, 25-21, 25-12)
Wilkes was dominant in their first match of the day, not letting the Bulldogs of Brooklyn get within arm's length with the exception of certain parts of the second set.
 
Junior outside hitter Andrew Potter (Nazareth, Pa.), led his team in both kills (11) and digs (6), while freshman setter Zach Shay (Bethlehem, Pa.) paced the offense with 21 assists.
 
MATCH 3: NJCU 3, Wilkes 1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-23) 
In the final match of the day, the two sides that won their first match met up to decide who would go home undefeated on the day.
 

Wilkes took the first set, as they led for the vast majority of the game and only a late push from NJCU tightened things up. 
 
In the second set, Wilkes once again got out to a lead, but the Knights refused to roll over, going on an 8-1 run to go from trailing by five (16-11) to leading by two (19-17). The run was capped by a kill from Chromulak and took advantage of several Wilkes errors. The Colonels quickly retook the lead at 21-20 on a kill from senior middle hitter Cole Hefner (East Greenville, Pa.). Facing the precipice, the Knights proved their metal, though, with a pair of kills from Andrews sandwiching a kill from Chromulak that put NJCU back ahead, and another Chromulak kill gave the Knights the set, 25-23, and tied the match at 1-1.
 
The second set victory seemed to imbue the Knights with some added fire, as they started off collecting eight of the first 10 points in the third. The Colonels, though, scraped their way back to within three at 15-12. The two teams traded mini-runs after that, leaving the match at 22-21 NJCU in the decisive third set. After a Wilkes kill from Ethan Speicher (Midlothian, Va.), the Knights closed out the set with three straight kills: Chromulak, Andrews, and junior middle blocker Christian Ramirez (West New York, NJ/Memorial), for a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
Then, in the fourth, the Knights did their best to bury Wilkes right off the bat, taking a 6-2 lead off the jump. However, the Colonels battled back and had the lead, 9-8. The two teams traded runs in the middle of the set, NJCU rattling off six straight before Wilkes tallied five straight. The end result was a 23-23 tie with NJCU looking to close out the match and Wilkes looking to force a fifth. Thanks to a pair of Wilkes errors, though, the Knights were able to end the day, taking the fourth set, 25-23 to move to 4-2 on the season.
 
Andrews once again led the team in kills (18), adding five digs while Ferrari produced his first career double-double with 36 assists and 16 digs while contributing five blocks. Chromulak put away 10 kills, hitting .250 (10-4-24) and senior libero J.J. Berdecia (West New York, NJ/Memorial) had 12 digs. DaSilva once again had five blocks. Ramirez had a match-high six aces and added three blocks.
 
OF NOTE:

• Series vs. Brooklyn:  NJCU now leads, 25-2.
• Series vs. Wilkes: Third meeting; NJCU leads, 3-0; the previous two meetings went five sets.
• With two matches in double figures, Andrews reached double-digit kills for the third and fourth times in 2020 and the eighth and ninth times in his NJCU career.
• With two matches in double figures, Chromulak reached double-digit kills for the second and third times in his NJCU career.
• Ferrari reached double-digit digs for the first time this year and third time in his NJCU career.
• Berdecia reached double-digit digs for the first time this year and 15th time in his NJCU career.

 
UP NEXT:
 

• NJCU is right back in action on Sunday, February 16 when it visits Division I St. Francis College Brooklyn at 12 p.m. in Brooklyn, N.Y. It will be the first-ever meeting; the Terriers are a first-year collegiate program.

 
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