Box Score
NEWARK, NJ – The NJIT men's volleyball team fell 3-1 to visiting Juniata in four sets, (26-24, 25-21, 21-25, 25-22) in a EIVA Hay Division match-up Saturday at the Fleisher Athletic Center.
Juniata took a 3-1 victory back on February 4 in Huntington, PA, and with the 3-1 victory Saturday the Eagles improve to 16-10 overall, 7-0 in the conference while the Highlanders fall to 6-18 overall, 0-5 in the conference.
Sophomore Adam Feehan recorded a match-high 16 kills followed by 10 kills from junior Adam Gustafson for NJIT. Freshman Herman Kantushov added seven kills in two sets while Andrei Stoyanow notched seven kills.
Setter Matthew Lui posted a double-double with 42 assists and a match-high 11 digs. Gustafson collected eight digs defensively for NJIT and libero Brady Smith posted seven.
Juniata was led by senior Chris Vrooman with 14 kills and six block assists while teammate Ben Wolff added 10 kills and four block assists. Sophomore John Prout posted a match-high eight block assists. Setter Mike Kraft recorded a match-high 50 assists for the Eagles.
Juniata took a 13-9 lead to start the match before NJIT pulled within one of the Eagles, 20-21 on a kill by Feehan. The Eagles rallied off the next two points to take a 23-20 lead. The Highlanders knotted the score at 24 on an Eagle error but Juniata claimed the set, 26-24, scoring the final two points.
The Eagles dominated the second set throughout, building a 17-12 lead. NJIT went on a 4-0 spurt mid-way through the set, slimming the Eagles lead to three, 23-20. Juniata won the set, 25-21, after a kill by Wolff and a Highlander attack error.
In the third set, the Highlanders hit .250 (11k, 4e, 28a) led by Gustafson, Feehan and Stoyanow, who notched three kills apiece. NJIT jumped out to a 13-9 advantage after a kill by Gustafson, which led to a Juniata timeout. The visitors pulled to within one of the home team, 15-14 on a kill by Prout. The Highlanders extended its lead to 18-15 on a kill by Gustafson and NJIT stayed on top the rest of the way for a 25-21 win.
The fourth set started off tight until the Eagles scored four consecutive points for a 13-9 lead. NJIT went on a 4-0 spurt of their own and tied the match at 16 on an Eagle error. After a timeout by Juniata the set saw six ties, the final at 21-21 on a kill by NJIT's Stoyanow. Juniata used its final timeout of the set and the team responded scoring the next three points for a 25-22 victory. Vrooman had 10 kills in the fourth set.
NJIT will return to action on Tuesday when the Highlanders host Sacred Heart at 7pm in the Fleisher Athletic Center.
