NEWARK, NJ–The NJIT men's volleyball team got back into the win column Friday with a 3-0 in EIVA Conference men's volleyball sweep over visiting Sacred Heart inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center.
NJIT, which hit an impressive .467 for the match, improves to 12-8 on the season and 7-4 in the EIVA. The Highlanders are now 9-2 at home inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center.
NJIT won in straight sets – 25-17, 25-17 and 25-13 behind a match-best 14 kills from freshman Alessandro Negri. Julian Meissner registered nine kills followed by Jens Feldthus with seven. Meissner finished with a .692 hitting percentage while Negri combined for a .385 clip.
Setter Roque Nido recorded a double-double with 29 assists and 10 digs.
Sacred Heart had two players reach six kills – Ife Loverton and Dylan McClung.
The Highlanders held a 6-to-1 advantage in service aces paced by Feldthus with five – the most since last season when Meissner finished with six vs. Penn State (Feb. 14, 2021). The five aces this season is tied for 12th in the nation.
In the first set, tied at 8-all, NJIT scored three straight points, capped by an ace from redshirt junior captain Jens Feldthus for a 11-8 advantage and later extended its lead to 15-10. NJIT scored five out of the last six points in the run. Sacred Heart rallied back to cut the deficit to three, 18-15, but the Highlanders scored the next six points and wrapped up the first set with a 25-17 victory to take a 1-0 lead. Alessandro Negri led all players with six kills while Jens Feldthus combined for three aces in the first frame. As a team, NJIT hit an impressive .571.
NJIT continued to stay in control to start the second set, jumping out to a 6-3 lead. The Highlanders extended its lead to 18-11 behind a 4-1 lead, resulting in Sacred Heart timeout. NJIT picked up a 25-17 win in the third set scoring the final five out of six points to go up 2-0.
In the third set, NJIT took a 7-2 lead and scored five straight points extending the Highlander lead to seven, 12-5, and never looked back securing the 3-0 sweep with a 25-13 victory. The Highlanders finished the third set hitting .433.
NJIT will be right back in action on Saturday at 4pm when the Highlanders host Harvard inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center.
