JERSEY CITY, N.J. — For the third time in the past four seasons, the New Jersey City University men's volleyball team has advanced to the Skyline Conference championship match. NJCU, seeded #2 in the 2024 installment of the Skyline Tournament, hosted #3 seed Ramapo College at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC) on Thursday evening, April 11, in the semifinal round. It was the third meeting between the two squads, all at the JMAC, over a seven day span. And just like the previous two matches, NJCU once again swept the Roadrunners in three sets (25-20, 25-19, 25-20), making it 18 victories over the team's past 19 matches.



The Gothic Knights (21-9, 17-1 Skyline) traded points back and forth in the first set against Ramapo (18-11, 14-4 NJAC), with NJCU never taking more than a four-point lead until the end of the game. Finally, leading by just two at 21-19, the Green and Gold won three of the final four points to take it, 25-20. Fifth year co-captain middle blocker Brandon DaSilva (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) finished that first set with three kills and no errors on six swings (.500) and an ace, while senior outside hitter Mahmoud Serour (Kearny, N.J./Kearny) registered two kills and an ace and freshman outside hitter Marcus Pardasie (Paramus, N.J./Cresskill) had three kills.

The Roadrunners kept the second set close and trailed by just one in the latter stages at 17-16. From that point, NJCU finished the set with momentum, taking eight of the final 11 points. Pardasie had two more kills during that stretch and finished the set with five kills and just one error on 11 swings (.364), while DaSilva notched three kills and two blocks and graduate student co-captain opposite James Bajor (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne) had four kills.

After the teams were knotted up in the early going of the third, it was once again NJCU that grabbed a hold of the momentum via a 6-1 run, thanks in part to an ace and a kill for sophomore setter Alex Casais (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne) who had a block and a kill, and took a 13-8 lead. NJCU and Ramapo then traded off throughout the remainder until back-to-back points — a kill from Bajor and ace for DaSilva — made it a six-point game at 23-17. The Roadrunners made a nice effort, winning three straight, but ultimately it was Pardasie with a kill and a match-winning ace for Bajor. The latter notch five kills and that match-winning ace in set three, while DaSilva had a kill, a block and a pair of aces.

Highlights:
- Bajor and DaSilva led all players with 10 points each. Bajor had 10 kills, two aces, nine digs and a block, while DaSilva had seven kills, three aces and four blocks.
- Pardasie also notched 10 kills to go with eight digs.
- Fifth year co-captain libero Nico Figueroa (Jersey City, N.J./County Prep) led all players with 13 digs.

Up Next:
The Gothic Knights return to action on Saturday afternoon, April 13, as they take on #1 seed St. Joseph's University-Long Island in Patchogue, N.Y., for the two program's third Skyline Championship match against one another in four seasons. The teams will treat this as the rubber match for 2024, which each squad winning on the other's home court. Saturday will begin at 1:00 p.m. and the winner will punch their ticket to the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Tournament. Fans can purchase tickets to the Skyline Championship match via this link. Pricing is $8 for adults, $4 for seniors and children and admission is free for college students (with ID).