NEWARK, NJ—The NJIT men's volleyball team swept visiting Sacred Heart, 3-0, behind a match-best 17 kills from Alvaro Gimeno Friday evening in EIVA men's volleyball action.

NJIT, winners of the last four out of five matches, improves to 8-13 overall, 3-8 in the EIVA while Sacred Heart dropped its third straight set, falling to 3-14 overall, 1-10 in the conference.

WATCH: Highlights vs. Sacred Heart

Gimeno paced the match with 17 kills, leading the Highlanders to a straight set victory – 25-20, 25-14 and 25-19.  The sophomore outside hitter combined for a .429 hitting percentage on 28 attempts and just five errors.

Junior Piotr Namiotko followed with nine kills, hitting .412 while middle Enrique de Diego Garcia combined for a .500 hitting percentage on six kills, no errors on 10 swings.

Freshman setter Roque Nido recorded 38 assists while Gimeno led the Highlander defense with six digs.

The home team held a 12-2 service ace advantage, led by Namiotko with five and Gimeno with three.

In front of the net, Luca Berger notched three total blocks (one solo, two assists) in addition to hitting .333 with five kills on nine swings with just two errors.

Emerson Waumans led Sacred Heart with eight kills, while Ramiro Balaguer paced the Pioneers with 12 assists.

NJIT opened the set with a 5-1 lead before Sacred Heart battled back to cut the deficit to 7-6.  The Highlanders pushed its lead to 17-13 but the Pioneers was able to come back and tie the contest at 18-18, after using a 5-0 spurt.  The Highlanders took seven of the next nine points to secure the set, 25-20, capped by a service ace by Namiotko.

The Highlanders opened the second frame, 7-4, resulting in an early timeout by Sacred Heart.  NJIT used a 13-6 run to push its lead to 17-10 after a kill by Gimeno.  The visitors fought back and cut the deficit to five, 17-12, before the Highlanders closed out the set on a 8-2 run, recording a 25-14 victory and taking a 2-0 advantage.

In the third set, which saw seven ties and two lead changes, NJIT used an 7-2 midway through the set, taking a 15-10 lead.  The Pioneers slimmed the lead to three, 17-14, but the Highlanders used a 6-2 run to push ahead, 23-16 on a Pioneer error.  Sacred Heart used a late run, pulling within five, 24-19, but freshman Will Andrews closed out the set with a kill, earning the 3-0 sweep, with a 25-19 victory.

NJIT will have a quick turnaround and host Harvard on Saturday at 6pm.  The Crimson dropped a five-set thriller at Princeton Friday night, falling to 6-13 overall, 5-6 in the EIVA.

In the first meeting at Harvard on February 23, the Crimson took the Highlanders to five sets, coming out on top, 3-2.