MADISON, N.J. | The New Jersey City University (NJCU) men's volleyball team split a non-conference tri-match on Sunday, sweeping host Drew University, 3-0, before falling to Arcadia in a five-set thriller, 3-2.

Match 1: NJCU 3, Drew 0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-22)

NJCU (9-2) dominated at the net, hitting .311 as a team with an impressive 45 kills. Matt Peralta (Hackensack, N.J./Hackensack) and Marcus Pardasie (Paramus, N.J./Cresskill) led the offensive charge with 10 kills apiece, while Alex Casais (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne) orchestrated the attack with 37 assists. Victor De Souza (Newark, N.J./Newark East Side) anchored the defense with three blocks, one solo, as Peralta proved equally effective on the back line with a team-high 11 digs.

Drew (8-6) received a strong performance from Jason Barbosa, who tallied eight kills on .385 hitting. Quinn Donahue ran the offense with 27 assists while adding three blocks.

The Gothic Knights opened with a 5-3 advantage over the Rangers as De Souza and Solomon Brown (Lakewood, N.J./Lakewood) recorded kills during the early stretch. Drew responded with a 5-0 run to seize momentum and take the lead. Casais reclaimed the advantage for the Gothic Knights, 12-11, when he dumped the ball over the net for the kill. That lead change proved to be the final one of the set as NJCU closed on a dominant 9-1 run to grab a 1-0 match lead.

The second set saw the Gothic Knights and Rangers trade the opening eight points until Pardasie and Peralta created separation with a trio of kills. The Rangers cut the deficit to one, but the Gothic Knights exploded on a 6-1 run to surge ahead 18-12. Late in the set, the Rangers strung two points together, but the rally died when De Souza slammed one off the floor. Peralta finished what De Souza started, delivering a pair of kills to give NJCU a 2-0 match advantage.

The third set featured the lowest hitting percentages from both teams and the smallest margin of victory. NJCU appeared poised to run away early, building a 6-2 lead, but Drew's offense rallied to take a 15-13 advantage. The Rangers held the lead until NJCU knotted it at 20. With the match level once more, Pardasie, Peralta, and Brown seized control and pushed NJCU ahead 24-20. Drew refused to fold, scoring two straight before Brown found an opening to seal the sweep.

Match 2: Arcadia 3, NJCU 2 (21-25, 25-13, 25-21, 21-25, 7-15)

NJCU (9-3) hit .224 as a team with 55 kills. Peralta paced the attack with 14 kills, while Amaru Perales (Harrison, N.J./Harrison) and Pardasie added 13 and 11, respectively. Casais once again orchestrated the offense with 47 assists and 16 digs.

Arcadia (3-5) rode Tucker Curtis, who delivered 16 kills. Riley Kodidek dished out an impressive 50 assists while Cameron Birch recorded 24 digs.

Much like the opening set against Drew, the Gothic Knights jumped out to an early lead. Arcadia swung momentum to its side with a 5-0 run that set the tone for the remainder of the frame. Once the Gothic Knights fell behind, they couldn't recover, dropping their first set of the tri-match.

The Gothic Knights rebounded in emphatic fashion in the second set. NJCU stormed out to an 11-4 lead, a run that saw Erick Bacuilima (North Bergen, N.J./North Bergen) deliver two service aces. NJCU built on that start with a 6-1 run to extend its lead to 17-6. Arcadia eventually got its offense moving, tallying four late points, but the damage was done as NJCU evened the match at one.

Arcadia took a page from NJCU's playbook and dominated the start of the third set, jumping out to a 7-2 lead. That advantage didn't hold as a pair of late Arcadia errors paired with a Brown kill tied the set at 19. Once level, NJCU found its stride and closed on a 6-1 run to take a 2-1 match lead.

The teams traded points until the fourth set was knotted at 16. NJCU remained slightly ahead, but Arcadia eventually seized control with a 6-1 run to force a deciding fifth set.

In the fifth, Arcadia carried over the momentum from the fourth frame, never trailing as they cruised to victory.