Box Score


 
FAIRFIELD, CT—The NJIT men's volleyball team rallied for a 3-1 win over Sacred Heart in EIVA men's volleyball action Saturday afternoon in the season finale for both squads.
 
In the first meeting of the season between the teams in Newark, NJIT came out on top, 3-2.  Saturday's result, 25-17, 21-25, 25-22, 25-23, ends the season for NJIT. 
 
The Highlanders wrap up the season with a 12-17 overall record, 6-8 in the conference, while Sacred Heart closes out the season with a 6-22 overall record and 2-12 in the conference.
 
The Highlanders were led by sophomore Herman Kantushov and Andrei Stoyanow's team-high nine kills, followed by freshman Chris Kaepernick's eight kills.  Kaepernick finished the match with eight kills and two errors on 19 swings,for a .316 hitting percentage, while teammate Doug Battersby hit .500 with seven kills, one error on 12 swings for NJIT.
 
NJIT's lone senior Adam Gustafson, who played in his final career match as a Highlander, piled up a team-high 31 assists and added three block assists.  Leading the Highlanders on the defensive side was libero Oren Zyndorf and Kaepernick, with six digs apiece.  In front of the net for NJIT, Battersby combined for seven block assists, Kantushov notched six and Stoyanow added five.
 
The match-leader was Sacred Heart's Enzo Mackenzie, who recorded 14 kills followed by teammate Bradley Borsay's 12 kills and match-high eight digs.  John Lutjen recorded a match-high 42 assists and added six digs for the Pioneers.
 
In the first set, the Highlanders jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead after a kill by junior Kevin Van Oss.  Both teams traded points over the course until late in the set, when the Highlanders extended their lead to 24-13 with six consecutive points.  Sacred Heart would not give up, as the home team scored four straight points for a 24-17 score, resulting in the Highlanders to call for timeout.  Out of the timeout, NJIT's Stoyanow put away a kill for the set, 25-17.
 
The home team opened up the second frame on a 5-0 run.  NJIT called for an early timeout and pulled to within two of Sacred Heart, 12-10, after a kill by Stoyanow.  The Pioneers increased their lead to seven, 21-14, on a service error by NJIT.  The visitors then went on a 5-1 run to close the gap to within three, 22-19, after an attack error by Sacred Heart, but the Pioneers closed out the set on a 3-2 run for a 25-21 victory to tie the contest at 1-1.
 
The third set, which saw five ties early, and the Highlanders took a 12-7 lead after blocks by Doug Battersby and Stoyanow.  The set became tied for the sixth time at 20 after a 6-1 run by the Pioneers.  After an NJIT timeout, Sacred Heart scored a point with its second consecutive service ace, but NJIT finished off the set on a 5-1 runm taking the set, 25-22.
 
In the final set, NJIT took a 9-5 lead after a Sacred Heart attack error. After a timeout by the Pioneers, Sacred Heart pulled to within one of the visitors, 11-10, after blocks by Kinney, Mackenzie and LeClerc.  The Pioneers rallied back to knot the set at 14 after registering three straight points.  The set saw four more ties after a 14-14 score, the final at 23-23, as NJIT's Kaepernick and Van Oss posted blocks.  Van Oss scored the 24^th point on a service ace and Kapernick finished the match off with a kill for a 25-23 victory.