HOBOKEN, N.J. – The New Jersey City University men's volleyball team traveled next door to Steven's Institute of Technology for the tri-match against the home team and SUNY New Paltz on Sunday, Jan. 30. The Gothic Knights battled in both matches, dropping the first to #8-ranked Stevens in straight sets. Despite taking a lead in the third set, NJCU was unable to make a comeback, ultimately dropping the second match to #RV New Paltz in three sets.

Match #1: #8 Stevens 3, NJCU 0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-19)
NJCU (2-2) battled through three tough sets against #8 Stevens (5-0) in the first game this afternoon. The senior duo of outside hitter Jonathan Andrews (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen) and setter Leo Ferrari (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) led with match-highs of 14 kills and 24 assists, respectively. Ferrari was just two assists shy of his season-high, which he hit at last weekend's tri-match against Bard College.

The Gothic Knights trailed for the majority of the game but did land some digs by Ferrari (6), junior James Bajor (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne) (5) and senior Daniel Esteva (Union, N.J./Union) (3). Bajor and junior captain Brandon DaSilva (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) put up two blocks each in today's contest – freshman Mike McGehee (Avondale, Ariz./Agua Fria) followed with a single block.

Highlights vs. Stevens:
- Andrews ended the game with a match-high 14 kills and two digs.
- DaSilva held the single ace of the match, along with two blocks and five kills.
- McGhee finished with three kills and a block.
 
Match #2: #RV New Paltz 3, NJCU 0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-19)
The Green and Gold continued to fight through today's second contest against the Hawks (5-3). NJCU held the momentum as the squad trailed 23-17 – with a New Paltz attacking error, a couple of kills by Andrews and DaSilva, and a huge block by the Bajor/DaSilva duo, the Gothic Knights managed to close the gap to 23-22 New Paltz. Unfortunately, two final New Paltz kills put away the set for the Hawks, moving on to the second.

After a close second set, Jersey City kicked in the afterburners for a nail-biting third set. Both teams went back-and-forth, remaining tied up to 16-16. A couple of late serving errors and New Paltz kills put away the third and final set of the match.
 
Highlights vs. New Paltz:
- DaSilva finished with a match-high five blocks and two kills.
- Andrews led the way for Jersey City with eight kills, followed by junior Hanel Collado (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen) with six and Bajor with three.
- Esteva held a team-high 13 digs (career-high), followed by Collado with six, and Andrews and Bajor with both five apiece.

UP NEXT:
Jersey City will travel to Mahwah, N.J., to compete in its first Skyline Conference match-up against Ramapo College on Wednesday, Feb. 2, at 7:00 p.m. This is the Gothic Knights first match-up with the Roadrunners since the 2020 campaign, as the former opted out of the 2021 campaign.