LORETTO, PA--No. 10 NJIT held on for a 3-2 (25-21, 25-21, 12-25, 23-25, 15-9) win at Saint Francis U on Friday evening in EIVA Conference men's volleyball action.
NJIT (12-5, 12-3 EIVA) moved back into the win column led by senior Alvaro Gimeno with a team-best 17 kills, four aces and four digs. Teammate Julian Meissner combined for 14 kills, five digs and two block assists.
Middle Luca Berger added eight kills and three total blocks (two solo, one assist) while setter Griffin Fieseler piled up a match-best 43 assists and three digs. Libero Joe Kennedy led the team with seven digs.
NJIT held a 10-6 advantage in the service ace category paced by Gimeno's four aces.
Saint Francis U (5-17, 4-11 EIVA) was led by Michael Fisher's match-best 19 kills, three digs and two service aces. Blake Liprando and Joshua Blair each combined for eight kills. Liprando notched an impressive .667 hitting percentage for the match, adding six digs.
In the first set, which saw NJIT hit .520, the two teams stayed tight until the visiting Highlanders took a 10-7 lead, eventually pushing it to 16-10. The Red Flash SFU were able to cut the deficit to three at 19-16, but NJIT held on to take set one, 25-21.
The Red Flash jumped out to an early 5-2 lead in the second set, forcing an early Highlanders timeout. NJIT rallied back to tie the frame, which led to a back-and-forth that saw the teams stay within two until late. At 22-20 NJIT, the Highlanders scored three of the final four points to take the set, 25-21.
In the third frame, SFU jumped out to a 10-5 lead and took its biggest lead of the match, 18-9. The Red Flash scored the last six out of seven points to earn the 25-12 victory.
Saint Francis U got out to a quick start in the fourth frame, 6-3 but the Highlanders answered quickly to go ahead 8-6. Both teams traded points and Red Flash was able to tie the set at 15-all and went on to take a late lead, holding on for the 25-23 victory to force a fifth and deciding set.
In the fifth and deciding set, NJIT took an early 4-2 lead, extending it to 8-4, forcing a Red Flash timeout. The Highlanders continued to extend its lead, reaching 9-4 and maintained a comfortable lead, holding on for a 15-9 win.
The two teams will return to action on Saturday at 4pm.
