MAHWAH, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | The New Jersey City University men's volleyball team played their first match in their return to the Skyline Conference on February 19, facing off with a long-time rival Ramapo College but were outdistanced by the Roadrunners, 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-18) at the Bill Bradley Sports and Recreation Center, 
 
The loss drops NJCU back down to .500 on the season (4-4, 0-1 Skyline, 0-2 NJAC). The Roadrunners moved to 8-5 on the year, as they stayed undefeated both in the Skyline (2-0) and NJAC (1-0) as well as at home (6-0).
 
Outside hitter Eric Van Thuyne (Newtown, Pa.) led the way for the Roadrunners, collecting 12 kills and a team-leading 13.5 points. Sophomore setter Josh Titus (Mechanicsberg, Pa.) ran the offense with 27 assists, while sophomore libero Tyler Plitt (Manorville, N.Y.) and senior outside hitter Stephen Codispodo (Massapequa, N.Y.) reached double-digit digs with 15 and 10, respectively. Ramapo had a 34-13 advantage in kills and forced NJCU into 20 attack errors (-.083).
 
For the Knights, only junior outside hitter Jonathan Andrews (North Bergen, NJ/North Bergen) had more than two kills on the night, collecting six in total. Sophomore setter Leo Ferrari (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) had 12 assists, while freshman middle blocker Brandon Da Silva added eight more blocks (two solo) to his impressive early season start.
 
The Roadrunners started the match fast, going on a 6-0 run before an NJCU timeout. The Knights got three straight points after the break, and got to within two at 9-7, but that would be the closest the Knights would get in the first game, eventually falling 25-16.
 
In the second set, NJCU once again fell behind early, trailing 5-1 before getting their rhythm. The Knights got to within one, at 12-11, and were only down three late in the game, 21-18, but Ramapo once again won the set wire-to-wire, this time 25-19.
 
If you're sensing a theme here, you nailed it, as Ramapo once again took an early lead and led wire-to-wire in the third, locking in the sweep with a 25-18 final set. 
 
OF NOTE:

• Series: Ramapo leads the all-time series, 56-11 and have won the last 27 meetings since 2006.

 
UP NEXT:
 

• NJCU hits the road for a non-conference tri-match on Saturday, February 22, playing host King's College (Pa.) (9-4) at noon before a matchup with Neumann University (3-11) at 2:00 p.m. 

 
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