NEWARK, NJ--The NJIT men's volleyball four-match win streak came to an end on Friday as No. 12 Princeton swept the Highlanders, 3-0, in close sets in EIVA Conference action inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center.
Princeton (5-4, 3-0 EIVA) defeated the Highlanders 25-21, 25-22 and 26-24. NJIT, which entered Friday with a 5-2 record, its best start since the 2008 season, moves to 5-3 on the season and 0-1 in conference play.
The Tigers George Huhmann and Parker Dixon led the match with 13 kills each as the team finished with a .362 hitting percentage. Setter Joe Kelly added a team-best 30 assists while libero Nico Posivak led all players with eight digs.
For NJIT, freshman Julian Meissner led the Highlander attack with 12 kills followed by Alvaro Gimeno with 11. Reigning EIVA Offensive Player of the Week Roque Nido combined for his second double-double of the season, piling up a match-best 31 assists and 11 assists to go along with five aces. Gimeno added seven digs for the Highlanders.
In the opening set, both teams finished with impressive hitting percentage as Princeton (.550) picked up a 25-21 victory behind 12 kills and just one error. NJIT notched a .480 hitting percentage, recording 14 kills on just two errors.
Princeton started off the frame on a 5-2 run as the Highlanders rallied back registering four straight points, two of which on aces from reigning EIVA Conference Offensive Player of the Week Roque Nido, knotting the set a 9-all. Princeton used a 7-1 run to take a six-point lead, 16-10, on a Highlander error. The home team battled back and slimmed the Tiger lead to as many as two, 23-21, after four consecutive kills from the Highlanders -- two from Jens Feldthus. The Tigers scored the final two points of the frame for a 25-21 victory. NJIT's Alvaro Gimeno led all players with five kills while hitting .556 in the set.
Both teams traded points until the mid-teens when the Tigers broke an 11-all tie, pulling ahead 17-13. NJIT rallied back and cut the Tigers lead to three, 20-17, and scored pulled to within one, 21-20, on a n ace by Roque. Princeton closed out the set on a 4-2 run, jumping ahead 2-0, with a 25-22 victory. Alvaro led all players with eight kills in the frame.
The third frame saw nine ties and five lead changes. Down 23-17 late in the set, NJIT scored four straight points, cutting the Tiger lead to three, 23-21 but a Highlander error and Princeton kill secured the 3-0 sweep for Princeton with a 26-24 victory.
NJIT will break for a week and return to EIVA action next weekend when the Highlanders visit Saint Francis U on Friday at 7pm and Penn State on Saturday at 7pm.
