JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | For the first time in 354 days, the New Jersey City University men's volleyball team took the court for a match on February 21, as the Gothic Knights opened an abbreviated 11-match schedule. NJCU hosted arguably its two most difficult opponents on that schedule and dropped a pair of matches against nationally-ranked foes as No. 13 Kean University edged NJCU (25-18, 28-26, 25-19) before No. 5 ranked Rutgers-Newark overcame NJCU in four sets, 3-1 (25-13, 23-25, 25-17, 25-12), at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (Coach Charlie Brown Court).
 
NJCU (0-2), opening its 32nd season of intercollegiate action, faced the only other New Jersey Athletic Conference programs fielding teams this season with Ramapo opting out of the season; the Gothic Knights will be 0-2 in the shortened league standings.
 
MATCH 1: #13 Kean 3, New Jersey City 0 (25-18, 28-26, 25-19)
In the first home match in 352 days, NJCU took the Cougars (1-2) to extra points in the second set but ultimately couldn't overcome a Kean squad that hit a collective .330 with 43 kills (43-11-97).
 
Sophomore outside hitter Jared Ray, the 2020 co-NJAC Player of the Year and co-Rookie of the year, paced Kean with 19 kills, hitting .516 (19-3-31) with three blocks while sophomore setter Luke Frankenfield handed out 35 assists with seven digs. Senior outside Seth Russell added 12 kills at a .400 attack rate (12-2-25) and seven digs. Junior middle blocker Duncan Beilke hit a match-high .538 with eight kills (8-1-13). The rest of the team could only produce four kills. Junior middle blocker Maxwell Thompson had five blocks.
 
NJCU, missing two starters, didn't have enough firepower to keep pace with the Cougars but still managed 31 kills. Sophomore middle blocker Brandon DaSilva (Kearny, N.J./Kearny), the 2020 NJAC Defensive Player of the Year, led the Knights with nine kills and a .353 attack percentage (9-3-17) with two blocks. Freshman outside Mahmoud Serour (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) had a solid debut in his first collegiate action, hitting a team-high .462 with six kills and no errors (13 attacks) with six digs.
 
Also for NJCU, senior middle Christian Ramirez (West New York, N.J./Memorial) finished with six kills and a .308 percentage (6-2-13) while senior setter Alexander Umanzor (West New York, N.J./Memorial) handed out 27 assists.
 
Kean pulled away midway through the first set for the seven-point outcome and held an 18-13 lead in the second set, which grew to 22-18. NJCU clawed back — a kill by Ramirez and two kills from Serour — to pull within one (22-21) before a kill by Ray and an attack error put the Cougars on top with set point (24-21). NJCU countered with four consecutive points to remain alive, tying it on a double block by Ramirez/Umanzor and taking a 25-24 lead on an ace from Serour. A Russell kill tied it before a service error — one of 16 by the Cougars in the match — gave NJCU another set point (26-25). However, the Cougars managed to regain the lead on back-to-back kills from freshman outside Alex Overhoff, before winning it on an attack error. Tied 14-14 in the third set, Kean used a 5-0 run to pull in front to stay.
 
MATCH 2: #5 Rutgers-Newark 3, New Jersey City 1 (25-13, 23-25, 25-17, 25-12)
Behind a remarkable 28-kill performance from second-year freshman right side Andrew Zaleck, Rutgers-Newark responded from a challenge by the Knights to pull away for a 3-1 decision.
 

The Scarlet Raiders, who were 17-1 last year before the COVID-19 pandemic cut their national championship hopes short, had a nearly 3:1 ratio in kills in the win, a 65-22 differential over NJCU. The Raiders hit .445 as a team (65-16-110).
 
Zaleck, the 2020 co-NJAC Player of the Year was unstoppable, hitting a colossal .641 with 28 kills and only three errors in 39 swings, adding four blocks. His partner, second-year setter Justin Tuohy, the 2020 co-NJAC Rookie of the Year, dished 54 assists to lead the offensive effort. Sophomore libero Matt Nikishin defended 18 digs.
 
Sophomore outside Arvind Kumar added 14 kills at a .360 pace (14-5-25) and seven digs while sophomore middle hitter Daniel Quay hit an impressive .563 with 11 kills (11-2-16) and five blocks.
 
For NJCU, senior outside Jonathan Andrews (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen) and junior setter Leo Ferrari (Kearny, N.J./Kearny), who did not play against Kean, led the hosts. Andrews finished with nine kills and two aces while Ferrari tallied 21 assists and eight digs. Ramirez finished with four kills in 10 swings.
 
After Newark won the first set handily hitting a notable .478 with 13 kills (13-2-23), NJCU showed resilience in the second set, scoring six consecutive points to gain an early 13-10 lead. After R-N tied it, NJCU again reeled off six straight points, behind the serving of sophomore opposite James Bajor (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne), who landed two aces during the spurt, to build a 20-14 lead. The Raiders rallied and tied it at 23-23 before they were surprised by the Knights, who won the set on an ace by Andrews into the back corner, after a rare R-N attack error gave NJCU set point.
 
While NJCU forced the match to four sets for the second year in a row, the Raiders firepower was too much in the third set when the guests hammered 19 kills and hit .471. The Raiders were even more accurate in the final set, finishing at a punctuating .600 with 17 kills (17-2-25) in 25 attacks to close the 3-1 outcome.
 
OF NOTE:

• Series vs. Kean: 19th meeting. Kean leads, 19-0.
• Series vs. Rutgers-Newark: Eighth meeting. Newark leads the all-time series, 8-0 (6-0 as a Division III program).

 
UP NEXT:

• The final nine matches of the season will all be Skyline Conference action for NJCU — facing Yeshiva University, Sarah Lawrence College and St. Joseph's College (LI), the three other league members opting to play this spring. The Knights will face each school three times. First up is NJCU against Yeshiva in a doubleheader in two weeks on Sunday, March 7 in New York, N.Y. NJCU leads the all-time series against Yeshiva, 33-0.

 
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