PURCHASE, N.Y. — The New Jersey City University men's volleyball team squared off with Skyline Conference opponent Manhattanville College on the road on Thursday night, March 21. The Gothic Knights cruised past the Valiants in a three-set sweep (25-16, 25-9, 25-19) and have now won 11 in a row, which is three off tying the program record for consecutive victories.

The first set saw the Green and Gold (14-8, 11-0 Skyline) leap out to a 13-2 lead, including three kills and a block from graduate student co-captain opposite James Bajor (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne), before Manhattanville clawed all the way back to make it a six-point game at 18-12. NJCU closed out the set by winning six of the final 10 points. Bajor finished the first with six kills and no errors on 10 swings (.600 hitting percentage), while junior middle blocker Nate Aguilar (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) had three kills on four error-less swings (.750) and a block.

The Gothic Knights continued their momentum in the second and jumped out to a massive 17-4 lead to start things off, including five different Jersey City players with two kills apiece. The Valiants came back slightly to make it 20-9, but NJCU took the next five points to go up 2-0 in the match. Rookie outside hitter Marcus Pardasie (Paramus, N.J./Cresskill) had three error-less kills on four swings (.750) and an ace in this set, while Bajor had four more kills on five swings with no errors (.800) to go with four digs.

The third and final set started off evenly, as the Valiants actually grabbed the early 6-5 advantage. NJCU answered with 6-1 run, including kills from Bajor and sophomore outside hitter Victor De Souza (Newark, N.J./Newark East Side). After some more back and fourh play, the Gothic Knights held a slim lead at 18-16. At that point, the Green and Gold won seven of the match's final 10 points to take it in three sets. Bajor had six more kills in this set, while De Souza had three on six swings and no errors (.500). Fifth-year co-captain libero Nico Figueroa (Jersey City, N.J./County Prep) finished the set with six digs, as well.

Highlights:
- Bajor's final line was a match-best 16 kills and two errors on 25 swings (.560), adding eight digs, a block and two assists.
- Sophomore setter Alex Casais (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne) finished with a match-best 31 assists (10.33/set) to go with three kills and two digs.
- Figueroa totaled a match-high 11 digs 
- Pardasie had five kills and no errors on 10 swings (.500) to go with seven digs and an ace.
- As a team, NJCU only had four attack errors compared to 19 for the Valiants.

Up Next:
The Gothic Knights return to action this Friday morning, March 2 , for a tri-match on the campus of Purchase College. NJCU kicks off play against Yeshiva University at 10:00 a.m. and then waits for the start of the day's third match to take on the College at Old Westbury.