Box Score
 
PHOENIX, AZ—Grand Canyon won the fifth and deciding set, 15-13, to claim a 3-2 win over visiting NJIT in men's volleyball action Friday evening at Antelope Gymnasium.
 
Grand Canyon, which competes in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, won the first, third and fifth sets in the match, while the Highlanders won the second and fourth frames by a margin of five and two, but could not pull out the win in the final set.
 
The final line for the victorious Antelopes was: 25-19, 20-25, 25-15, 23-25, 15-13.
 
Grand Canyon (13-13) had a balanced attack, led by senior outside hitter Ben Ponnet with 19 kills, 15 kills for classmate Connor Dougherty, 12 for junior Keaton Berry and 11 for redshirt sophomore Andrew Muys.
 
Senior setter Keith Smith notched a match-best 52 assists, 8 digs and 3 block solos while libero Jared Morrison dug-up 19 digs. 
 
The Antelopes held a 12-to-7 team blocking advantage led by Dougherty with 9 block assists.
 
The Highlanders (8-11) lost despite a strong performance from junior outside hitter TJ Jurko, who posted a double-double, leading the team with 16 kills and adding 10 digs to go along with a match-high 3 service aces.
 
NJIT held a 7-to-3 service ace advantage paced by Jurko's 3 aces and one ace from four different Highlanders.
 
Sophomore middle Ryan Thomas also reached double-digit kills Friday, combining for 15 kills, on 26 swings and four errors for a .423 hitting percentage.
 
Junior setter Zak Robben piled up a team-high 32 assists and added 8 digs, while libero Oren Zyndorf recorded 13 digs, followed by 12 from Brad Thele and 10 from Jurko.
 
Grand Canyon scored the first point in the deciding set, which saw 10 ties and four lead changes. The Antelopes did not go up by more than two points, but they had the answer all three times the Highlanders closed to within a point.
 
The Antelopes posted a .414 team hitting percentage in the first set, with 15 kills and just 3 errors in 29 swings.  Grand Canyon scored the first three points of the frame and never looked back, as the set only saw one tie early.  The Antelopes built a 6-point lead, 16-10, and later increased its lead to 8, 20-12.  NJIT pulled within five, 23-18, on a Grand Canyon error but the Antelopes finished off the set on a quick 2-1 run for a 25-19 victory.
 
NJIT pulled even in the match with a 25-20 win in the second set, paced by 4 kills from Jurko and Thomas. The Highlanders, which knotted the match at 20, took control with a 5-0 run for a 25-20 victory.
 
Grand Canyon bounced back with a 25-15 win of its own in the third set. The Antelopes jumped out a 5-0 lead and never looked back, taking a 2-1 lead in sets.
 
NJIT tied the match with an impressive 25-23 win in the fourth set. The score remained close throughout the frame with NJIT holding a one-point lead, 18-17. The Highlanders scored the next two points increasing the lead to three, 20-17. 
 
After a timeout by Grand Canyon, the Antelopes scored three consecutive points, tying the set at 20.  After a Grand Canyon error and back-to-back kills by NJIT's Robben, the Highlanders pushed their lead back up to three, 23-20. 
 
Grand Canyon pulled within one point on two occasions late, 23-22 and 24-23, but the set went to the Highlanders after a service error by Grand Canyon.
 
Both teams will be back in action Saturday at 3pm (MT) at Antelope Gymnasium before the Highlanders travel back to Newark.