PATCHOGUE, N.Y. — In the winningest season in 16 years, the New Jersey City University men's volleyball squad competed in its second straight Skyline Conference title match on Saturday, April 9. The Gothic Knights, seeded second in the tournament, traveled out to Long Island to face St. Joseph's College — also for the second straight season — and the two programs once again battled to a five-set thriller before a winner was crowned. Trailing two sets to zero, NJCU came all the way back by winning the third and fourth sets with extra points to force a decisive fifth set. Unfortunately, the back-to-back championships were not meant to be and the Golden Eagles claimed the conference crown and the automatic bid to the 2022 NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.
For Jersey City (22-9), three separate players notched double-doubles on the day, led once again by senior outside hitter
Jonathan Andrews (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen), who notched a match-best 24 kills to go with a match-high-tying and career-best 15 digs. Joining him was junior tri-captain opposite
James Bajor (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne), who had 11 kills and a match-high-tying 15 digs, as well as senior
Leo Ferrari (Kearny, N.J./Kearny), who split time at outside hitter and setter to finish with 29 assists, 11 digs and five kills. Ferrari and middle blockers junior tri-captain
Brandon DaSilva (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) and rookie
Nate Aguilar (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) combined for 17 total blocks — Ferrari tied his career-high with a match-best tying seven, while DaSilva and Aguilar (career-high-tying) each had five. Senior setter
Aaron Mantilla (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) chipped in 20 assists, while his classmate and libero
Daniel Esteva (Union, N.J./Union) notched 10 digs.
As mentioned, NJCU fell behind to St. Joe's (25-3) after the first two sets, but battled back to event it up at 2-2 with a couple of set wins itself. The Gothic Knights trailed early on in the third, 7-3, before going on a 9-2 run to take the 12-9 lead. DaSilva had two kills and an ace, while junior tri-captain outside hitter
Hanel Collado (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen) mustered a couple of kills as well during this stretch. The teams traded points until NJCU led 23-18 and at that point the Golden Eagles went on a 6-1 run to tie it at 23-23. However, two kills from DaSilva and an ace from Collado gave Jersey City the set win.
The majority of the fourth set saw the Green and Gold in control and at one point, they held a seven-point, 20-13 lead and looked to be quickly on their way to a fifth set. However, St. Joe's did its best to end it in four sets and eventually stole momentum to the tune of a 12-4 run to take a one-point, 25-24 lead. Once again, however, the Gothic Knights pulled through thanks to a block from DaSilva and Ferrari, as well as a set-clinching kill from Andrews to force the fifth set.
The Golden Eagles jumped out to an early lead in the final set, however NJCU was able to trim it down to two points at 10-8 with a chance to fight back and win the title. However, St. Joe's claimed five of the final eight points to claim its third Skyline crown in the past four conference championship tournaments.
Up Next:
Despite the loss, this Gothic Knight squad still has the chance to stand alone with the third-most wins in program history. Jersey City is eligible for and will likely compete in the 2022 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Men's Volleyball Championship for the first time since 2013. The quarterfinal round matches of the eight team championship are scheduled to take place on Wednesday, April 13, followed by the semifinal and final rounds on Saturday, April 16. The ECAC will make its selections on Monday, April 11, following the NCAA Tournament selections.
