JERSEY CITY, NJ – The New Jersey City University men’s volleyball team hit a whopping .469 as a team on Tuesday night, March 8, as the Gothic Knights dispatched Skyline Conference foe Sarah Lawrence College – limiting the Gryphons to just .033 swinging as a squad – in straight sets (25-13, 25-11, 25-16) at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center (JMAC).
NJCU (12-6, 2-2 Skyline) took control of the match early in the first set against Sarah Lawrence (4-9, 1-2 Skyline). Trailing 6-5 to the Gryphons, the Green and Gold flew out to an 18-4 run to take a commanding 23-10 lead before winning the first 25-13. Junior tri captains Brandon DaSilva (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) and James Bajor (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) dominated in this set, each notching five kills and a block. The former was 5-of-7 with two errors (.429), while the latter was 5-of-8 with one error (.500).
Set number two saw Bajor stand out a bit more than the opposite recorded a pair of kills on four swings with one error to go with three aces and five digs in the 25-11 game. This set was never in question as NJCU jumped out to a 13-3 lead almost immediately. The other junior tri-captain, Hanel Collado (North Bergen, NJ/North Bergen) got in on the act with three kills of his own, while junior Chris Castillo (North Bergen, NJ/High Tech) was a perfect 3-of-3 – each also had a block.
The third and final game of the night saw a few new Gothic Knights contribute. Freshman Anthony Trivers (Washington Township, NJ/Washington Township) and sophomore Kenneth Gil (North Bergen, NJ/North Bergen) each notched a pair of kills, while the former had two digs and the latter had a block. Castillo once again was a perfect 3-of-3 in swings and blocked another Gryphon attack attempt at the net. Freshman Nate Aguilar (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) notched two of his four kills on the night in this set, as well. another rookie, Ryan Lin (Union, NJ/Union), recorded a pair of kills to go with an ace and two blocks, as NJCU cruised to the win, 25-16 and the match victory, 3-0.
Highlights:
– Senior setter Aaron Mantilla (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) got his second straight start and tied his career-best assists mark from his previous match with a match-high 36 tonight. He added two blocks, a dig and an ace.
– Bajor led NJCU with seven kills on 12 swings with two errors (.417) to go with five digs, two blocks and a match-best three aces.
– Castillo was a perfect 6-of-6 at the net, adding a pair of blocks. Collado was 5-of-8 with no errors, as well, adding a match-high-tying seven digs, an ace and a block.
– Sophomore Mahmoud Serour (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) tied Collado with seven digs to go with five kills on 11 error-less swings and a block.
up next:
The Gothic Knights return to the JMAC on Thursday night, March 10, out for revenge for their Skyline-opening four-set loss at Ramapo College back on Feb. 2. NJCU and the Roadrunners clash in Jersey City for a scheduled 7:00 pm first serve
