Post Game Comments

NEWARK, NJ—Senior outside hitter Jabarry Goodridge paced the Highlanders with 21 kills, leading NJIT to its third straight win of the season, edging UC Santa Cruz, 3-2, Saturday evening in men's volleyball non-conference action at the Fleisher Athletic Center.

NJIT, winners of its last three, won the five-set thriller, 25-20, 25-18, 18-25, 22-25, 15-12, improving to 3-2 on the season while UC Santa Cruz, who played two matches in the Golden Dome Classic at nearby Rutgers-Newark, before facing the Highlanders in the nightcap, fall to 3-3 on the season.

In the fifth and deciding set, NJIT scored the first three points but the Banana Slugs answered with five straight points, pulling ahead 5-3.  The Highlanders rallied off six consecutive points, to regain the lead, 9-5, resulting in a timeout by UC Santa Cruz.

The Banana Slugs tied the set at 10 on a Highlander attack error and the home team used a 4-0 run to go up 14-10.  UC Santa Cruz scored two straight points, pulling within two, 12-14, but after a timeout by head coach Danny Goncalves, the Highlanders recorded its third win of the season on a service error by the visitors.

Goodridge led the way with 21 kills, his fourth double-digit kill match of the season, finishing with a .349 hitting percentage.  Raymond Kowalski added nine kills followed by eight from Luke Allmond.  Allmond, the Highlanders freshman middle, finished the match with a .615 hitting percentage.

Setter Ricardo Whitaker notched 44 assists and five digs while libero Shannon Heckman paced the home team with nine digs.

In front of the net, Allmond combined for six total blocks (1 solo, five assists) followed by Kowalski with five blocks (all assists) and Goodridge with four (1 solo, three assists).

As a team, NJIT held a 10-to-4 service ace advantage led by Kowalski (3) and Goodridge and Allmond (2).

UC Santa Cruz's Luke Merchen shared match-high honors with NJIT's Goodridge, recording 21 kills and nine digs.  Jake Howard notched 15 kills and eight digs while Raymond Cascio added 10 kills for the Banana Slugs.

Ryan McLaughlin was the match-leader with 45 assists to go along with five digs.  Banana Slugs' Jonathan Santos and Lake Merchen each notched nine digs while Howard and Kyle Donohue combined for eight apiece.

The first set, which was played close throughout, saw 14 ties and five lead changes.  After a 17 all score, NJIT used an 8-2 spurt to go up 1-0 with a 25-20 victory.

In the second frame, the Highlanders jumped out a 7-3 advantage resulting in a timeout by UC Santa Cruz.  NJIT extended its lead to 15-9 after a block solo by Goodridge.  The Banana Slugs fought back to within five, 15-20, after three straight points.  NJIT went on a 5-3 run to close out the set 25-18 and go ahead 2-0.

UC Santa Cruz hit an impressive .444 in the third set, combining for 16 kills with just four errors on 27 attempts to pull out a 25-18 victory.

The fourth set seesawed back-and-forth with 11 ties and four lead changes.  After a 15-15 tie, the Banana Slugs used on a 3-1 run, pushing ahead 19-16 and closed out the set on another 3-1 run for a 25-22 victory, forcing a fifth and final set.

NJIT will return to action on January 27 when the Highlanders visit No. 13 Ball State at 7:30pm.