MADISON, N.J. — The New Jersey City University men's volleyball team played a pair of strong back-to-back matches on the road on Saturday, Feb. 18, on the campus of Drew University. The Gothic Knights began with a four-set victory (15-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-14) over the hosting Rangers in the morning, before coming right back to face unbeaten King's University (Pa.). NJCU fell to the Monarchs after five hard-fought sets (25-14, 22-25, 20-25, 25-18, 15-12). With Jersey City's first win of the day, eighth-year head coach
Carlo Edra notched his 108th victory, which ties for first all-time in program history.
Match 1: NJCU 3, Drew 1
NJCU (6-4) was led in the first match against Drew (6-6) by hitters junior
Mahmoud Serour (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) and senior
James Bajor (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne), as the pair each sniffed a double-double effort. Serour led the Gothic Knights with a team-best 11 kills and just two errors on an efficient 22 swings (.409 hitting percentage) to go with eight digs and a pair of blocks, while Bajor had 10 kills and three errors on 29 swings (.241) to go with nine digs and two blocks, as well. Senior setter
Leo Ferrari (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) had a strong match too, dishing out a team-high 30 assists to go with seven digs and three more aces — he now has 145 of those for his career and is just one way from tying for second all time in program history at 146 with Satsay Thongvichith, who played for the Gothic Knights from 1995-98. Stepping in as the team's primary libero for the day was junior Nico Figuero and he led the Green and Gold with a team-high 10 digs.
Match 2: King's 3, NJCU 2
Jersey City got off to a slow start in this one, falling behind early via a 25-14 loss in the first set. However, the Gothic Knights fired back with two straight set wins to take a 2-1 advantage heading into the fourth. The Monarchs (15-0) however, continued their record start to just their third season in program history by winning the fourth and fifth sets to defeat NJCU. Individually, Bajor was a dominant force offensively for the Gothic Knights once again, leading all players with a match-best 19 kills on 45 attempts with seven errors (.267) and also dug out eight balls with a block and an ace. Senior co-captain middle blocker
Brandon DaSilva (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) notched three blocks to go with two digs and 12 kills with five errors on 23 swings (team-best .304 hitting percentage). Serour added 10 more kills and 10 digs for the first double-double of his career. Figueroa, meanwhile, notched a career-high with a match-best 13 digs, while Ferrari added eight digs to go with one more ace, a block and a match-high 44 assists.
Up Next:
The Gothic Knights return to action on Wednesday night, Feb. 22, at 7:00 p.m. in Bronxville, N.Y., as they kick off Skyline Conference play for the 2023 season. Edra will take another crack at his program-record 109th-career victory as NJCU travels north to take on Sarah Lawrence College. The Green and Gold have never lost to the Gryphons over 14 all-time meetings.
