Feb. 22, 2006

Box Score

NEWARK, NJ - Things got better for the New Jersey Institute of Technology men's volleyball team as the evening progressed and it ended with 3-0 victory for the Highlanders over visiting Sacred Heart Wednesday night.

The win evened NJIT's overall record at 5-5 and marked the Highlanders' first triumph of the season in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Hay Division. NJIT, which has EIVA Hay matches upcoming on Friday and Saturday, is 1-3 in divisional play. The loss drops Sacred Heart to 0-7 overall and 0-3 in the EIVA Hay.

Wednesday's first game was a close struggle, with the Highlanders coming out on top, 30-28. NJIT took control of the match with a 30-12 win in game two and the Highlanders clinched the victory, 30-22, in the third frame.

Eduardo Welter posted match-high totals of 12 kills and 7 digs for the Highlanders. He was also one of three players in the match to notch two services aces. Amobi Armstrong finished with 10 kills and 2 aces, while Brian Como had a match-best 5 blocks. Rodrigo Correa had 27 assists in two games and Mike Nonnenmann added 12 assists in the third game.

John Breen stood out for Sacred Heart, collecting 11 kills and 6 digs, while Barry Smith had 8 kills and 2 aces.

As a team, the Highlanders committed just 9 attack errors in three games and their team attack percentage was .487 (47 kills, 9 errors, 78 attempts). Leonardo Paludo was the most efficient attacker (.615 on 8 kills, 0 errors, 13 attempts), followed by Greg Wagner (.556), Welter (.500) and Armstrong (.471).

NJIT will try to move a step closer to the .500 mark in Hay Division play when it hosts Springfield on Friday at 7 pm.