JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The New Jersey City University men's volleyball team was extremely efficient on Tuesday night, March 14, as the Gothic Knights had just eight errors and 25 total aces in the three-set sweep (25-10, 25-5, 25-7) over Skyline Conference foe Yeshiva University at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC).

NJCU (10-7, 3-2 Skyline) had some strong performances from a variety of contributors as rookie middle blocker Amaru Perales (Harrison, N.J./Harrison) notched a match-best and career-high nine kills and just one error on 17 swings (.471 hitting percentage) to go with a match-high-tying pair of blocks. Additionally, junior outside hitter Mahmoud Serour (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) and freshman setter Alex Casais (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne) had excellent serving nights. Serour had seven aces to go with a match-high-tying 10 digs — he tied junior libero Leandro Perez (Elizabeth, N.J./Kearny), who also had a career-best 10 — while Casais led all players is assists (25) and service aces (8) to go with five digs. Sophomore middle Nate Aguilar (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) had eight error-less kills on 11 swings (.727) to go with two blocks and a pair of digs. Senior Leo Ferrari (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) came in to serve on occasion, as well, and continues to inch up the all-time aces record book — he has 164 over parts of five seasons, which is still second behind Maurice Washington's 200 from 2004-07.

The first set began against the Maccabees (4-11, 1-5 Skyline) with a 9-1 run out of the gate, including three aces from Serour and a kill and two blocks from senior opposite James Bajor (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne), who played just the one set on the night. A couple of points later, NJCU finished off the first by doubling up on Yeshiva, 16-8 en route to the 25-10 set victory. Perales had five kills over that span, as well as two aces apiece for Bajor and Serour.

Set number two saw the Gothic Knights win the first 11 points, as well as 16 of the first 17. Casais had five aces over that 17-point stretch, while Serour had two and Aguilar and sophomore outside hitter Mike McGehee (Avondale, Ariz./Agua Fria) had two kills each. Leading 17-3, Jersey City won eight of the final 10 points to take the set, 25-5. Serour had three kills, while Perales had two and junior opposite Kenneth Gil (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen) had two aces.

The third and final set began with the Green and Gold on an 8-2 run, including two kills from Gil and a couple more aces from Casais. At that point, Jersey City hunkered down and, leading 8-3, closed out the set via a 17-4 run. Aguilar and freshman outside hitter Ethen Lugo (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) had three kills each, while Perales had a couple of blocks and Ferarri notched all four of his aces.

Up Next:
NJCU returns to action for four straight road Skyline matches over the next week and a half. The Gothic Knights first travel up to Purchase, N.Y., for a tri-match against Purchase College and St. Joseph's University-Brooklyn on Saturday, March 18, beginning with the Panthers at 10:00 a.m. They then get an opportunity for redemption on Tuesday night, March 21, in Mahwah, N.J., against Ramapo College at 7:00 p.m. — this will also serve as a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) contest. Finally, Jersey City heads to Riverdale, N.Y., on Thursday night, March 23, for a 6:00 p.m. match against the College of Mount Saint Vincent.