GLENSIDE, Pa. — The New Jersey City University men's volleyball team played a pair of highly-competitive matches on Sunday, Feb. 12, on day two of the Arcadia University Tournament. The Gothic Knights played the maximum 10 sets over the two matches, picking up a five-set win (25-22, 21-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-11) over Eastern Mennonite University, followed by an extremely close five-set loss (25-18, 19-25, 25-22, 28-30, 8-15) to host Arcadia.
Match 1: NJCU 3, EMU 2
NJCU (5-3) started off the day with an early-afternoon clash against neutral opponent Eastern Mennonite (5-6) and immediately took charge in set number one. The Gothic Knights took a 7-4 lead before the Royals managed to get out in front at 13-10. However, a Jersey City 12-5 run put the squad up by three at 22-18 — senior co-captains
James Bajor (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne) and
Brandon DaSilva (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) each had two kills and a block over that span — before NJCU came away with the 25-22 win. The second set was just as even as EMU went ahead 9-4 before five straight Jersey City points — including two more kills from Bajor — made it 9-9. The Royals managed to jump ahead by five on several occasions, but another 6-1 Gothic Knights run tied it up again at 21-21 — however EMU took four straight points to end the set, 25-22, and even the match up at one all.
Set three saw the widest margin of victory for the match in favor of the Green and Gold. Both teams traded points for the entirety of the set before Jersey City led 20-18. At that point, NJCU won five of the final seven points, including kills from DaSilva and juniors
Nico Figueroa (Jersey City, N.J./County Prep) and
Mahmoud Serour (Kearny, N.J./Kearny), to go up 2-1 in the match following the 25-20 win. Game four was all Gothic Knights for the early portion as they took several six-point leads, including as late as 16-10. Unfortunately, a 10-1 EMU turned the momentum right around and the Royals jumped ahead, 20-17. Both teams exchanged every other point for the remainder of the set before Eastern Mennonite won it, 25-22, to force a decisive fifth set.
To start the fifth, Jersey City led by a slim 5-4 margin before winning four straight points — including a kill and an ace from Bajor — to go up by five at 9-4. A 7-3 run for EMU followed and the set was back to one point at 12-11 in favor of the Gothic Knights. NJCU won the final three points, including an ace from Serour, to take the set, 15-11, and the match, 3-2.
Highlights vs. EMU:
- Bajor led NJCU with 14 kills to go with nine digs, five total blocks and two aces. DaSilva was right behind him with 12 efficient kills on 21 swings with just three errors (.429 hitting percentage) and added a match-best five total blocks.
- Senior libero
Daniel Esteva (Union, N.J./Union) led the Gothic Knights with 13 digs, while fellow senior setter
Leo Ferrari (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) dished out 40 assists to go with 13 digs, two aces and a pair of blocks. It was his first double-double of the season and eighth of his career.
- Serour ended up with eight kills, nine digs and three blocks, while sophomore middle blocker
Nate Aguilar (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) had four blocks and six kills. Figueroa added a career-best 11 digs and five kills.
Match 2: Arcadia 3, NJCU 2
The Gothic Knights started out strong in this one, as well, and won the first set by seven points. Tied up at 5-5, Jersey City went on a 6-1 run — including two kills and a block for Serour — to take an 11-6 lead. Arcadia (7-5) cut it down to one at 12-11, but NJCU went on a brief 4-1 stretch to go back up by four at 16-12 — Bajor and DaSilva each had a kill and a block during that run. The teams traded the next nine points and, leading 21-17, the Gothic Knights won five of the final six points to take the set, 25-18. Ferrari had two aces during that stretch. In set number two, Jersey City climbed out to a 9-7 lead before the Knights went on a 7-1 run to take a 14-10 lead. The home team held that momentum and won the set, 25-19, to even up the match.
NJCU again built a five-point, 9-4 early lead in the third set before Arcadia managed to tie up at 12-12. Two kills and a block from Bajor contributed to a quick 4-0 run to put the Gothic Knights back on top at 16-12. After trading points and runs for the next while, the Green and Gold were up 21-19 and proceeded to take four of the next seven points to win the set, 25-22, and go up 2-1 in the match. DaSilva had two kills and a block during that stretch, while sophomore middle blocker
Mike McGehee (Avondale, Ariz./Agua Fria) closed out the set with a kill.
The most thrilling set of the day came next as NJCU once again assumed a 9-4 early lead over Arcadia in the fourth. Leading by one at 9-8, the Gothic Knights then went on a 6-1 run — including a pair of kills from Serour — to take a 15-9 advantage. The hometown Knights slowly chipped away at the NJCU lead before tying it back up at 21-21. The next 11 points alternated between each team until Jersey City led, 27-26. Unfortunately, Arcadia won four the of the next five points to come back and win it, 30-28, and force a fifth set. Unable to recover from the fourth-set surge by Arcadia, NJCU eventually fell to the Knights, 15-8, in the final set and 3-2 in the match.
Highlights vs. Arcadia:
- Ferrari notched another double-double, the ninth of his career, as he led NJCU with 55 assists to go with 10 digs, five aces and four total blocks.
- Bajor notched a career-best and team-high 24 kills on 50 efficient swings with just four errors (.400) to go with 13 digs and a team-high-tying six total blocks. It is his first double-double of the season and fifth of his career.
- Not to be outdone, Serour also had a career-high in kills with 15 on 33 swings with just four errors, as well, to hit .333. He added seven digs and three total blocks.
- Esteva ended with 11 more digs and a pair of assists.
- DaSilva ended with 10 kills and three errors on 20 swings (.350) to go with four digs and four blocks.
- McGehee tied the team-high with six total blocks to go with seven kills and two errors on 16 swings (.313) and three digs.
Up Next:
NJCU returns to action for a road tri-match next Saturday, Feb. 18, in Madison, N.J. The Gothic Knights first take on host Drew University at 11:00 a.m., followed by a 1:00 p.m. clash with King's College (Pa.).
