JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Ramapo College rallied from an 11-3 deficit in the third set to outlast the New Jersey City University men's volleyball team, 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 26-24) in a Skyline Conference match on March 2 at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (Coach Charlie Brown Court).
 
Ramapo (12-7, 5-0 Skyline) remained undefeated in the league by landing 34 kills and having half the attack errors that NJCU had, a 22-11 differential. The Gothic Knights (8-7, 2-2 Skyline) had their three-match winning streak snapped.
 
Junior opposite Jason van der Wilt (Maywood, N.J.) led all players with 10 kills (.231), five blocks, five digs and two aces and junior middle blocker Conor Charlow (Towson, Md.) hit .389 with nine kills and only two errors in 18 swings. He added three blocks and two aces. Senior outside hitter Eric Van Thuyne (Newtown, Pa.) had eight kills without an error to hit .381 (21 attempts), adding seven digs and two aces.
 
Sophomore setter Josh Titus (Mechanicsberg, Pa.) handed out 29 assists with six digs and sophomore libero Tyler Plitt (Manorville, N.Y.) finished with 11 digs.
 
Sophomore setter Leo Ferrari (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) finished with 22 assists, nine digs and two blocks. Senior outside hitter Julian Moreira (Miami, FL/Alonzo and Tracy Mourning Biscayne Bay Campus) finished with a team-high six kills. Sophomore middle blocker Brandon DaSilva (Kearny, NJ/Kearny), the No. 2 blocker in the nation, had four blocks (two solo).
 
Ramapo hit .370 in the opening set with 12 kills. Leading by one (12-11), Ramapo reeled off a 6-1 run to build an 18-12 lead that was insurmountable. RCNJ added 10 kills in the second set and NJCU was limited to a -.192 attack rate with four kills and nine errors. The Roadrunners pulled away at a similar point as the first set; leading 16-13, RCNJ scored four in a row for a 20-13 edge, built it to 22-14 and won by nine.
 
In the third set, NJCU came out with a new sense of energy, scoring the first four points and pushing the lead to 11-3. The Knights still led 15-7 after a kill by junior outside Jonathan Andrews (North Bergen, NJ/North Bergen) and 17-10 after a kill by DaSilva. But Ramapo began to chip away at the lead, scoring five of the next six points to draw within 18-15. A 4-0 run capped by a kill by Charlow evened it at 20-20. After NJCU regained a one-point lead on an error, RCNJ scored the next two before a Roadrunner service error evened it again, 22-22. Van Der Wilt and DaSilva traded kills at 23-23. Van Thuyne had a kill for match point. Freshman right side Martin Chromulak (Garfield, NJ/Garfield) temporarily saved the set with a kill. But a service error gave RCNJ its second match point and a combo block by Charlow and Van Der Wilt clinched the win.
 
OF NOTE:

• Series: 68th meeting. Ramapo leads the all-time series, 57-11 and has won the last 28 meetings since 2006.

 
UP NEXT:

• NJCU heads to Patchogue, N.Y. for another tough Skyline match against St. Joseph's College (LI) on Wednesday, March 4 at 7:00 p.m. The Golden Eagles (11-7, 0-1 Skyline) are the two-time defending Skyline champions.
• Video: https://www.sjcgoldeneagles.com/links/oflycf 
• Live Stats: https://www.sjcgoldeneagles.com/sports/mvball/2019-20/boxscores/20200304_vq0t.xml 

 
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