Game 1	NJIT at No. 14 Purdue Fort Wayne
Date | Time	January 4 | 7pm
Location | Arena	Fort Wayne, Ind. | Arnie Ball Court
Series History	Purdue Fort Wayne leads 14-1
In-Game Statistics	In-Game Statistics (free)
Mastodons All-Access	Watch Live (Mike Maahs - Play-by-Play)

 

Game 2	NJIT at Ball State
Date | Time	January 5 | 7pm
Location | Arena	Muncie, Ind. | Worthen Arena
Series History	Ball State leads, 9-0
In-Game Statistics	In-Game Statistics (free)
Ball State All-Access	Watch Live

The Highlanders, which are set to open the 2019 season on Friday, will play the first eight matches on the road, first visiting the Purdue Fort Wayne on January 4 and Ball State on January 5.  Both matches are slated for 7pm.

NJIT, which finished with a 9-17 overall mark last season, were selected to finished fourth in the EIVA Preseason Coaches' Poll with 47 points, behind Princeton (56), Penn State (53) and defending regular-season champion George Mason (51).

The Highlanders return sophomore Alvaro Gimeno, reigning EIVA Rookie of the Year and first-team honoree, finished ranked second in the EIVA in kills (313), points (381.5) and service aces (45), third in points per set (4.02) and fifth in kills per set (3.29).

Junior opposite Piotr Namiotko, an EIVA second-team selection a season ago, ranked third in the conference in kills per set (3.42), fifth in kills (277) and points per set (3.83) and sixth in points (310.5). He notched 14 double-digit matches with kills, including three 20+ kill performances.

Senior setter Ricardo Whitaker paced the Highlanders with 559 assists (8.22aps) while, notching double-digit assists in every match but one, including a season-best 45 assists vs. George Mason (Mar 30).

Joining the Highlanders for one season is graduate student transfer Enrique de Diego Garcia, who played three seasons (2015, 2016, 2017) for California Baptist University, earning AVCA Division I-II All-American honorable mention in 2016, becoming the second player to earn the recognition.

Luca Berger, the Highlanders 6-foot-10 middle blocker, recorded 131 kills (1.52kps), 15 service aces and a team-leading 97 total blocks (11 solo, 86 assists).

Scouting Purdue Fort Wayne
Purdue Fort Wayne will open the season ranked T-14th in the AVCA Top 15 Coaches Poll, coming off an 18-11 season in 2018.

The Mastodons return all players that started in at least 24 contests last season, including three All-MIVA selections.

Pelegrin Vargas led the Mastodons in kills with 3.75 per set, and is back for his junior season after being selected as an AVCA All-America Honorable Mention.

Vargas, Michael Keegan and Kolbie Knorr found places on various watch lists to begin the season. Vargas was selected to the Karch Kiraly list, which marks the best outside hitter of the season, Keegan on the Lloy Ball list, which is given to the best setter in the country and Knorr on the Erik Shoji award list, which is given to the best libero in the nation.

Scouting Ball State
Ball State was picked to finish fourth in the MIVA, and among the top teams receiving votes just outside the AVCA Top 15, after finishing 18-12 overall record last season.  The Cardinals advanced to the MIVA semifinals, falling to Loyola-Chicago.

The Cardinals will take on a familiar opponent for the Highlanders, Princeton, from the EIVA Conference, on January 4 to open the 2019 season.

Next Up
NJIT will take a trip to play at Hawaii, who reached 19 wins last season on January 10, USC on January 11 and first-time opponent Concordia Irvine on January 12.  The Highlanders last played both Hawaii and USC in 2009.