NJIT Highlights
Post Game Interview with ESPN3 Michael Ventola and Head Coach Danny Goncavles
NEWARK, NJ–The NJIT men's volleyball team dropped a hard fought five-set thriller to No. 4 Penn State, 3-2, Saturday evening in EIVA Conference men's volleyball action inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center.
Penn State won its eight match in a row, improving to 12-3 on the season and remaining perfect in EIVA action with a 7-0 mark. NJIT, which suffered its first home loss of the season, moves to 8-4 overall, 4-2 in the EIVA and 6-1 inside the WEC.
NJIT won the first set of the match, 25-23, to set the tone of the match but Penn State won the next two, 25-21 and 25-18, to go up 2-1. NJIT rallied back in the fourth frame, hitting an impressive .391 to Penn State's .036 hitting percentage, forcing a fifth and deciding frame.
In the fifth and deciding frame, the set saw 12 ties and four lead changes with the final tie at 12-12. The Nittany Lions went on to close the set on a 4-1 run to secure the 3-2 victory with a 15-13 win, including a pair of aces in the run.
Penn State was led by Brett Wildman's 15 kills followed by Cal Fisher with 13. Setter Cole Bogner combined for 42 assists and added seven digs.
The Nittany Lions held an 8-2 advantage in the service ace category, led by Fisher with four service aces and three by Wildman.
In front of the net, Toby Ezeonu combined for seven block assists and Sam Marsh combined for six total blocks (two solo, four assists).
NJIT had three players reach double-digit kills paced by a match-best 16 kills by Julian Meissner, Alessandro Negri (15) and Jens Feldthus (10). Setter Griffin Fieseler piled up a double-double, piling up 40 assists and 17 digs, to pace the Highlanders defensively.
Middle Carson Williams recorded eight kills, five digs and four block assists for the Highlanders.
Libero Joe Kennedy recorded 15 kills while Martin de Chavarria notched seven total blocks (one solo, six assists) for NJIT. Meissner combined for seven blocks of his own (three solo, four assists).
Penn State scored the opening four points of the first frame but NJIT answered with a run of their own, with a 6-1 spurt for a 6-5 advantage. NJIT extended its lead to 17-12 behind three straight points by the Highlanders capped by a kill by Alessandro Negri. Penn State inched its way back cutting the NJIT lead to one on three occasions late in the set, the final a 24-23, on a Highlander service error. NJIT recorded the final point of the set on a solo block by Martin de Chavarria for a 25-23 victory.
NJIT scored the first three points of the second frame and went ahead 7-4. Penn State tied the match at 8-8 and took its first lead of the game 10-8 on back-to-back aces by Cal Fisher. Penn State remained in control throughout the teens and into early 20's, holding a 21-17 lead. NJIT scored three straight points, cutting the Nittany lead to one, 21-20, on a block solo by Carson Williams. Penn State scored the final four points of the set, knotting the match at 1-1 with a 25-21 win.
The third frame remained close in the early on with Penn State leading by as many as two but used a 5-0 spurt to push its lead to 17-10 on a Fischer service ace and cruised to a 25-18 win to take a 2-1 lead.
In the fourth set, the Highlanders came out strong, jumping out to a 9-3 score and never looked back as NJIT held a lead by as many as four to force a fifth and deciding set with a 25-16 victory to tie the match at 2-2.
NJIT will take a trip out to California and face Cal State Northridge on March 3 (10pm ET) and No. 2 Long Beach State on March 4 (10pm ET).
