Highlights vs. Fort Wayne

NEWARK, NJ--Visiting Fort Wayne picked up its fourth straight win of the season in a hard fought 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 32-30) victory at NJIT Saturday evening in the Wellness and Events Center.

The Highlanders (0-5) were led by sophomores Piotr Namiotko who tallied 11 kills and transfer Luca Berger's eight kills and three blocks.  Newcomer Alvaro Gimeno notched nine kills.

Junior setter Ricardo Whitaker produced 27 assists for NJIT and libero Shannon Heckman combined for a match-high nine digs. Senior Kevin Myren registered five kills and a match-best five blocks.

Colton Stone led the Mastodons (4-0) with 12 kills followed by Pelegrin Vargas with 11 and Michael Keegan, who notched a match-high 32 assists.

Namiotko earned seven of his 11 kills in the first set, hitting .500. NJIT scored the first point of the match but IPFW took control the rest of the way for a 25-19 victory.

In the second frame, three Highlanders registered three kills--Namiotko, Alvaro Gimeno, and Berger. NJIT, which found themselves down 22-15, worked its way back, scoring four unanswered points to cut the Mastodons lead to three, all by Berger who notched two aces and two kills.

The Highlanders led most of the third set, until the Mastodons tied it up at 22.  The final 18 points of the set went back and forth, with Stone scoring the final two points for IPFW on a kill and a service ace for a 32-30 victory.

NJIT will travel to Phoenix, AZ at the end of the week for two matches at Grand Canyon, playing the Antelopes on January 18 at 6pm (MT) and UC Irvine on January 19 at 6pm (MT).