Jan. 23, 2008

Box Score

NEWARK, NJ - Junior Amobi Armstrong's match-best 13 kills led NJIT in its season-opening 3-0 men's volleyball win over visiting Sacred Heart Wednesday night in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.

The Highlanders, facing a familiar foe, rolled to a 30-21, 30-19, 30-25 sweep.

Until this year, NJIT and Sacred Heart met twice each season as members of the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association's Hay Division. But the Highlanders finished first in the Hay last season, earning promotion to the higher power-rated EIVA Tait Division for 2008. As a result, Wednesday's match is the only one scheduled between the teams this season and does not count in either team's divisional standings.

Armstrong was one of three Highlanders with double-figure kills totals, as Leonardo Paludo notched 12 and Eduardo Welter finished with 11.

Senior co-captain Mike Nonnenmann got the start at setter and picked up 26 assists in two games. Rodrigo Correa added 12 assists in the third game.

Armstrong and Greg Wagner each fired four service aces for the Highlanders who dominated that category, 12-2.

Chris Siddayao, the senior libero, led NJIT with five digs, while Robert Thomas and Paludo had three blocks apiece.

Sacred Heart, which fell to 0-2 on the season, got nine kills from Chris Yantz. Roger Parent picked up 19 assists and Scott Grandpre led the Pioneers with five digs. Pete Donohue and BJ Smith finished with three blocks apiece, as SHU had a slight 7-6 edge in team blocking.

Sacred Heart's best moments of the match came early, as the Pioneers took a quick 5-1 lead to start the match. Down, 9-4, NJIT went on a 9-1 spurt and went ahead for good, 11-10 on Wagner's service ace.

Armstrong and Sacred Heart's Yantz each notched five kills in NJIT's 30-21 win in the opening frame.

The Highlanders, led by Paludo (5 kills) and Welter (4), were never threatened in winning game two, 30-19. And they had a comfortable 29-21 lead in the third game, before Sacred Heart staved off match point four times until it finally succumbed, 30-25.

NJIT is on the road for its next two matches, visiting Ball State, last season's #13 team in the final national rankings, on Saturday at 7:30 pm in Muncie, IN. After that, the Highlanders will head down Warren Street to take on Rutgers-Newark at Rutgers on January 30 at 7 pm.