UNION, N.J. – The New Jersey City University men's volleyball team dominated Kean University in straight sets for a huge win on Thursday, Feb. 10. This is the first time NJCU has beaten the Cougars in program history, let alone in straight sets (25-17, 25-21, 25-32). The Gothic Knights had managed to grab one to two sets in the past, but Kean ultimately held a 20-match winning streak before tonight.
The first few points were distributed evenly between the two teams – Kean (4-3) earned the first point off a Jersey City (3-4) attacking error. However, junior captain
Brandon DaSilva (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) and senior
Jonathan Andrews (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen) came in with a block off the following point, kick-starting the battle. Kills from junior captains
Hanel Collado (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen) and
James Bajor (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne) put the game at 6-6, fueling NJCU momentum. Andrews, DaSilva, Bajor, Collado and freshman middle blocker
Nate Aguilar (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) all notched kills throughout the rest of the set. Andrews ended with a service ace and another serve that didn't make it back due to a bad Kean set, ending it 25-17 in NJCU's favor.
Kean quickly put down three kills to start the second set. The Green and Gold bounced back to win the next six points, which included kills from both DaSilva and Bajor. While up 7-5, Bajor and Aguilar teamed up for a block against one of Kean's top hitters. Andrews, Bajor and DaSilva registered a few more kills, putting NJCU ahead 14-11. All kills were assisted by senior setter
Aaron Mantilla (Kearny, N.J./Kearny), who tallied 14 assists in tonight's contest. The Gothic Knights kept the heat coming as they started to pull away from the Cougars – two services aces by Mantilla and an Andrews/DaSilva block set NJCU ahead 17-11. Kills by DaSilva, Collado and Andrews pulled off the second set, including assists from senior setter
Leo Ferrari (Kearny, N.J./Kearny), who tallied 12 total. The final NJCU point was won by a huge block from Bajor and DaSilva, closing the set 25-21.
The third and final set quickly became a nail-biter. A few NJCU errors put Kean in the lead at first, until the home team gave up some errors of its own. A service ace by Bajor and a kill from Collado brought the score to 6-6. Junior middle blocker hitter
Chris Castillo (North Bergen, N.J./High Tech) notched his first kill of the night, immediately followed by a block from Mantilla and DaSilva. DaSilva and Andrews registered the rest of the kills for the set, each assisted from either Mantilla, Ferrari or Bajor. Both teams exchanged points up until the last few, which had the Gothic Knights up 24-20. With two NJCU errors and a kill from Kean, Jersey City's lead came down to 24-23. Off the Cougars serve – Collado made the dig, leaving Ferrari to set up DaSilva, who took the final kill that left NJCU victorious.
Highlights:
- The team made a total of 10 blocks tonight. Individually, DaSilva led with six total blocks, followed by Bajor with three and Andrews, Collado and Aguilar with two each.
- Andrews and DaSilva had game-high kills of 11 and nine, respectively.
- Collado and senior libero
Daniel Esteva (Union, N.J./Union) shared a game-high of 10 digs each.
- Andrews held a game-high of three aces, followed by Mantilla with two and Bajor with one.
UP NEXT:
Jersey City will travel to Morristown, N.J., where the squad will take on Saint Elizabeth University on Monday, Feb. 14. After Saint Elizabeth, the Gothic Knights will return home to the John J. Moore Athletics & Fitness Center (JMAC) the first time this season for the following match-up against John Jay College on Friday, Feb. 18. NJCU will receive their 2021 Skyline Conference championship rings during a pre-match ceremony on Friday, as well.
