HARTSVILLE, SC—NJIT men's volleyball opened its three-match late-week swing through the Carolinas with a 25-21, 25-23, 25-18 victory at Coker Thursday night.
 
The action was the first in 11 days for the Highlanders, who leveled their record in the young 2015 season to 2-2 with sweep. Coker, in its third season of men's volleyball, is still looking for its first win after five defeats to open the 2015 season.
 
The Highlanders had a substantial gap in their schedule after last playing at Charleston (WV) on January 18 and the hiatus was extended courtesy of Winter Storm Juno, which caused postponement of NJIT's match that was scheduled to be played at Rutgers-Newark on January 27.
 
NJIT, which struggled on the attack in losing its first two 2015 matches, had a strong showing at Coker (37 kills, 15 errors, 68 attempts, .324 percentage), following up a dominant .429 hitting match in sweeping Charleston 11 days ago.
 
At Coker, the Highlanders got productive hitting nights on the outside from Kajetan Borecki (match-high 11 kills), TJ Jurko, and Jabarry Goodridge (9 kills apiece).
 
Ryan Thomas and Raphael Anthony each added four kills from the middle, with Thomas getting his on just six swings without an error (.667).
 
Setter Zak Robben accounted for 30 of NJIT's 36 assists and five different Highlanders—Goodridge, Borecki, Anthony, Robben, and Thomas—each notched one service ace.
 
On defense, the Highlanders combined for 17 digs, topped by four for Goodridge, and the total team blocks favored NJIT by a slim 7.0-to-6.0. Thomas was the individual leader with four total blocks—two solo and two assisted.
 
Like the Highlanders, Coker's Cobras had three attack leaders, with junior Luke Hansen (8 kills) in the lead, followed closely by senior Leshon Alexander and sophomore Artur Cabral, each of whom had 7 kills.
 
Aleksa Bijelic, a freshman from Serbia, led the Cobras with 23 assists and Carbral and freshman Aaron Wendels each served a pair of aces.
 
On defense, Hansen had four digs, while Cabral was the top individual blocker for the Cobras with four (2 solo, 2 assisted).
 
NJIT controlled the late points to take the first set, 25-21. The score was knotted at 19-19 when Borecki delivered a kill to put the Highlanders on top to stay, as NJIT won six of the last eight points in the frame. After Borecki's kill, the Highlanders took the driver's seat with an ace by Anthony and a block solo by Thomas. Jurko would notch two kills down the stretch, as well.
 
The second set, won by the Highlanders 25-23, had the closest final score, but the fewest ties (4) of the night and just one lead change.
 
Coker took an early 7-3 lead in the set, but NJIT stayed close and overtook the home team late to take a 2-0 lead in sets. Coker was on top 18-17 when the Highlanders ran off three unanswered points that included a block solo by Anthony and a Borecki kill.
 
Down 18-20, the Cobras fought back and forged a 21-21 tie before Borecki and Goodridge delivered consecutive kills for NJIT. A Coker attack error put the Cobras on the brink, but the home team stayed alive with two points that left the score at 24-23 in NJIT's favor. Borecki then notched a kill for set point.
 
Coker, with its back to the wall, held a 10-9 lead in the elimination third set, but NJIT surged into the lead with four straight points. The 4-0 run was the spark of a bigger 10-3 Highlander surge that ended with the visitors on top, 20-13, with the last three points in the run coming on unforced Coker attack errors.
 
NJIT eventually got to the verge of match point with a 24-15 lead. Coker stayed alive with three points, but a Goodridge kill, assisted by Robben, clinched the Highlander victory.
 
The Highlanders will stay in South Carolina, visiting Limestone in Gaffney, SC, Friday night for 7 pm match. After that, NJIT will head to Belmont, NC, for a match Saturday at 7 pm against Belmont Abbey.
 
Limestone and Belmont Abbey both play in the Conference Carolinas, a multiple-sport NCAA Division II conference that includes men's volleyball as one of its conference championship sports.
 
The NCAA sponsors two championships in men's volleyball--a combined Division I-II championship and a Division III championship. The Division I-II championship previously had four qualifiers, but in 2014, the national championship field was expanded to six.
 
With that expansion, Conference Carolinas became an automatic qualifying conference, with its champion gaining a berth in the six-team field. The other automatic qualifying conferences are the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (which includes NJIT), the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.. There are two at-large berths in the six-team championship field, as well.
 
NJIT faced Friday's opponent, Limestone, in 2014, opening the home season last year with a 3-1 victory over the Saints.
 
Looking farther ahead, NJIT will have a rematch against Coker in a few weeks, hosting the Cobras on February 19.