PATCHOGUE, N.Y. – The New Jersey City University men's volleyball squad played a pair of Skyline Conference matches on Sunday, March 6, against St. Joseph's College-Long Island and Yeshiva University. The Gothic Knights fell to the hosting-Golden Eagles in three sets (25-20, 25-16, 25-22), but then bounced back against the Maccabees in straight sets (25-12, 25-10, 25-12).
 
Match 1:
Jersey City (11-6, 1-2 Skyline) played three close sets with St. Joe's (12-2, 2-0 Skyline), but unfortunately was unable to come out on top in each one. Senior outside hitter Jonathan Andrews (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen) still had a strong match as he posted double-digit kills for the seventh time this season. His 11 kills led all players, and he tied the match-best with three aces. Junior tri-captain middle blocker Brandon DaSilva (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) notched seven kills on 16 swings with three errors (.250 hitting percentage) to go with a solo block and an ace. Senior libero Daniel Esteva (Union, N.J./Union) rounded out the stat leaders with a team-high 10 digs.
 
Match 2:
NJCU controlled its match against Yeshiva (1-3, 0-2 Skyline) and was led by junior Chris Castillo (North Bergen, N.J./High Tech). The opposite led the Gothic Knights in kills (9) and total blocks (3) and chipped in a pair of aces and a dig. His kill total came 12 total swings with just two errors (.583).
 
Rookie middle blocker Nate Aguilar (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) also showed out with eight kills on 10 swings with just one error (.700) to go with a pair of aces. Another freshman, outside hitter Ryan Lin (Union, N.J./Union) registered eight kills as well, taking 13 swings with two errors (.462).
 
Senior setter Aaron Mantilla (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) dished out a career- and match-best 36 assists against the Maccabees and also tied the match-high with a season-best eight digs – he chipped in a pair of aces as well. Junior Nico Figueroa (Jersey City, N.J./County Prep) got the nod at libero in this one and tied Mantilla with a season-high eight digs. Freshman Anthony Trivers (Washington Township, N.J./Washington Township) got the start on the outside and led all players with a season-high three aces. He also notched season-bests in kills (5) and digs (6).
 
Up Next:
The Green and Gold return home for their next four matches, including three straight Skyline tilts. Things begin with a 7:00 p.m. conference clash with Sarah Lawrence College on Tuesday night, March 8, followed by another 7:00 p.m. Skyline match with Ramapo College on Thursday night, March 10.