Jersey City, N.J - The New Jersey City University men's volleyball team looked to extend their win streak tonight, March 11, in a Skyline Conference bout against SUNY Old Westbury at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC). The Gothic Knights comfortably defended home court, en-route to winning their eighth straight match without dropping a set, to stay undefeated in conference play. Senior outside Kenneth Gil (North Bergen, N.J., North Bergen) led the way for the Green and Gold, recording a career-best 10 kills on 16 attempts (.438 hitting percentage). On the evening of being named New Jersey Athletic Conference Player of the Week for the first time in his young career, freshman outside Marcus Pardasie (Paramus, N.J., Cresskill) put together another solid performance, finishing with nine kills on 19 attempts without an error (.474 hitting percentage), as well as six service aces, making him responsible for 15 Green and Gold points, and also led NJCU in digs (11). Following a career best performance against St. Joe's Brooklyn, freshman setter Faraz Bhatti (Union, N.J., Union) led all players tonight with 23 assists, his second most as a Gothic Knight, and has surpassed the century mark (108) in 12 sets played (9.0/set) in his rookie campaign.

NJCU (11-8, 8-0 Skyline) opened the evening with a healthy 9-0 run to begin proceedings on Charlie Brown Court against Old Westbury (1-10, 1-4 Skyline). The Gothic Knights would then go on a 16-7 run to close out set one while holding the Panthers to under double digits. Gil put up five of his 10 kills of the match in the first game, including the last point to take a 1-0 lead by a score of 25-7. NJAC Defensive Player of the Week Brandon DaSilva (Kearny, N.J., Kearny) only saw action in the first, recording six kills on seven attempts without an error (.857 hitting percentage). DaSilva also had another solo block, giving him 52 on the season, and remains atop the Skyline Conference in that category. 

The Panthers would take the first point of the second, which was answered by another Green and Gold run, this time 15-6 to take back the advantage. With the score 16-8 in favor of NJCU, both teams exchanged points for the remainder of the set, which ultimately saw NJCU take their 23rd set victory in a row by a score of 25-15. Bhatti checked in the match at the beginning of the second set for NJCU, and he would go on to notch 14 assists while playing an instrumental role in helping his team take a 2-0 going into set three.

The third set began a lot tighter than the previous two. With the score 7-5 in favor of NJCU, the Gothic Knights erupted for 13 unanswered points, their largest run of the night. Sophomore outside Victor De Souza (Newark, N.J., Newark East Side) entered the match at the start the third, and would notch four kills on that 13-0 run to put NJCU in prime position to keep the winning streak alive. At 21-6 in favor of the Gothic Knights, they would hold the Panthers to just four more points, three of which were Green and Gold errors, and took game three by a score of 25-10. NJCU have never lost a set to Old Westbury, and are 2-0 all time against the Panthers.

Highlights:
-NJCU recorded 42 kills on 81 swings against the Panthers (.420 hitting percentage), their fourth best as a squad so far this season.
-Pardasie has recorded at least two service aces in his last seven appearances. 
-Freshman Malik Dickerson (Union, N.J., Union) earned the first start of his collegiate career tonight on the outside for the Green and Gold. He finished with a career best five kills on 13 swings, and now has six on the season.

Up Next:
NJCU hits the road for a Skyline conference matchup between undefeated teams. The Gothic Knights will head up to New York on Wednesday, March 13, to face off against Saint Joe's Long Island. First serve is set for 7 p.m.