GLENSIDE, Pa. — The New Jersey City University men's volleyball team faced off with non-conference foe Baruch College on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 11, on a neutral court as part of the Arcadia University Tournament. The Gothic Knights dropped a high-scoring first set before coming back to dominate the Bearcats over the final three sets, thanks in part to a dominant display from senior middle blocker and co-captain, Brandon DaSilva (Kearny, N.J./Kearny), to win it in four sets (21-25, 25-13, 25-15, 25-18).

NJCU (4-2) started off the first set evenly against Baruch (3-5) and trailed the Bearcats by just one at 17-16. However, Baruch took eight of the final 13 points of the set to take the early 1-0 lead. Whatever head coach Carlo Edra said to his squad between sets resonated, because the Gothic Knights fired out to a massive 17-2 lead to start the second before winning it, 25-13. Junior outside hitter Mahmoud Serour (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) was a big part of that set as he finished with three kills and three aces. Additionally, NJCU hit .280 and held the Bearcats to -.037 in that game.

The Gothic Knights defense got even stronger in the third set as they held Baruch to a -.105 hitting percentage, while the offense produced a .350 swinging percentage. DaSilva had four error-less kills to go with four total blocks and an ace to help with the dominant winning effort — he finished with a match high in kills (11) with an efficient .450 hitting percentage (just two errors on 20 swings) to go with four blocks.

The fourth and final set saw the Green and Gold jump out to a 10-2 lead early and eventually the squad to a 10-point, 16-6 lead before owning several more 10-point advantages, including as late as 22-12, before winning the set 25-18 and the match 3-1. Serour had four more kills in this set, while junior Nico Figueroa (Jersey City, N.J./County Prep) — who saw significant hitting time today — notched two kills and two blocks.

Highlights:
- Senior libero Daniel Esteva (Union, N.J./Union) led all players with 10 digs to go with five assists. He was also nearly perfect in serve-receive, going 19-for-20.
- Sophomore middle blocker Mike McGehee (Avondale, Ariz./Agua Fria), returning for the first time since the season opener, finished with a match-best six total blocks, five kills and an ace.
- Senior Leo Ferrari (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) returned to his setting role against the Bearcats and dished out a match-high-tying 30 assists to go with three total blocks, three aces, three digs and four kills on five swings with no errors (.800).
- Figueroa ended with five kills, three blocks and two digs and was a perfect 14-of-14 in serve-receive.
- Serour had seven kills, seven digs and three aces.
- Senior co-captain opposite James Bajor (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne) finished with nine kills, seven digs, four total blocks and an ace.

Up Next:
The Gothic Knights continue action in Glenside tomorrow afternoon, Sunday, Feb. 12, beginning at 12:00 p.m. against Eastern Mennonite University. Then, at 2:00 p.m., NJCU takes on the hosting Knights.