NEWARK, NJ–The NJIT men's volleyball team will wrap up a four-game homestand this weekend, hosting a pair of matches inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center, welcoming No. 15 CSUN on Friday at 7pm and George Mason on Sunday at 2pm.
Game Information
Friday: The match against No. 15 CSUN will begin at 7pm and streamed live on ESPN+ with in-game statistics available on NJITHighlanders.com.
Sunday: The match against George Mason will begin at 2pm and streamed live on ESPN+ with in-game statistics available on NJITHighlanders.com.
All-Time Series
Vs. CSUN: CSUN leads the all-time series, 4-1. The Matadors won the first four meetings, dating back to 2007. The last time the two teams met in Northridge, CA, NJIT swept CSUN, 3-0, on March 3, 2022.
Vs. George Mason: George Mason leads the all-time series 25-7. NJIT has won the last three out of four meetings against the Patriots.
Challenging Non-Conference Schedule
NJIT will face four top-15 teams this season, including one team which play in the EIVA Conference and was selected the preseason favorite in the league.
No. 11 Loyola-Chicago (Jan. 20)
No. 5 Pepperdine (Jan. 27)
No. 2 Long Beach State (Feb. 17-18)
No. 3 Penn State (Feb. 24-25)
#ProtectTheWEC
NJIT is 3-1 at home this season. The Highlanders swept visiting Sacred Heart on Saturday, January 14, topped visiting St. Francis Brooklyn on January 21, 3-1 and swept Saint Francis U on February 3. The Highlanders lone loss at home came against No. 11 Loyola Chicago on January 20.
Last Time Out
The Highlanders improved to 3-1 at home with a 3-0 sweep over Saint Francis U last Friday. NJIT, which hit .330 for the match, was led by Jens Feldthus with 11 kills and Julian Meissner with 10.
2022 Recap
The Highlanders finished the 2022 season with a 17-11 overall mark and made an appearance in the 2022 EIVA finals for the third time in program history. The 17 wins was the second most wins since the 2007 season.
EIVA Preseason Poll
NJIT was picked to finish second in the 2023 EIVA Preseason Coaches Poll. The Highlanders picked up one first-place vote and were second in the ballot behind conference favorite Penn State.
Highlander Lineup
NJIT returns its starting lineup from a season ago with the expectation of the libero position. The two top hitters for NJIT a season ago are: Julian Meissner (3.62kps; .272 H%) and Alessandro Negri (2.89kps; .274 H%).
2023 Captains
The Highlanders will be led by graduate student Jens Feldthus and seniors Martin de Chavarria and Julian Meissner.
Meissner was selected to the EIVA All-Tournament team, All-EIVA first-team and selected to the EIVA All-Academic team. De Chavarria earned EIVA All-Tournament honors, All-EIVA second-team and All-Academic honors. Feldthus was named to the EIVA second-team and All-Academic team.
Freshman All-American in 2022
Outside hitter Negri was named Freshman All-American by OffTheBlock and was selected to the EIVA first-team after joining the Highlanders in January 2022 from Reggio Emilia, Italy.
All-Academic Honors
In 2022, NJIT earned United Marine Corps (USMC) and American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) with one of its annual Team Academic Awards for the 2021-22 academic year.
NJIT boosted a 3.581 cumulative GPA, which included two student-athletes -- Josh Gregg and Joe Kennedy posting a 4.0 GPA, 15 student-athletes named to the Dean's List and 11 above a 3.5 GPA or higher this spring.
Eleven players were recognized to the 2022 EIVA All-Academic team.
New Kids on the Block
Three standouts joined the Highlanders in the 2022-23 season: transfer Will Migdal and true freshmen Braeden Goebbert and Andrew Fedmasu both who hail from Illinois.
Scouting CSUN
The 15th-ranked CSUN men's volleyball team (5-5, 0-0 Big West) opens up a three-match trip to the East Coast on Wednesday as the Matadors take on Princeton at 4 p.m. (PT). CSUN also travels to Newark on Friday to take on NJIT Friday at 4 p.m., (PT) before concluding the trip Saturday morning at Fairleigh Dickinson at 9 a.m. PT. The Matadors finished 4-3 on their season-long, seven-match homestand which concluded last Saturday with a 3-2 upset over No. 6 Stanford.
Junior Griffin Walters was honored as Big West Player of the Week when the conference announced its weekly awards on Monday, Feb. 6. Walters, who missed Wednesday's match against Vanguard due to injury, came back to lead the Matadors to a five-set upset win over No. 6 Stanford on Friday (Feb. 3). Walters matched his career-high with 17 kills on a career-high 40 swings to hit .300. The junior from Sacramento also chipped in eight digs, two aces and a pair of blocks. He currently ranks second on the Matadors averaging 2.84 kills per set and is hitting a career-best .275 on 207 attacks. He also leads CSUN with 16 aces which ranks fifth in the Big West. The award marks the first Big West Player of the Week honor for CSUN this season and first since Kyle Hobus was named Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week on Feb. 28, 2022.
Senior Taylan Cook also received a national honor as he was named Off The Block Co-Libero of the Week after posting 24 digs in two matches last week, including a career-high 20 scoops in CSUN's 3-2 win over No. 6 Stanford. Cook moved up to sixth in the Big West in digs per set this week at 1.82.
Scouting George Mason
George Mason enters Sunday's match with a 1-8 overall mark with the Patriots lone win coming against No. 14 Lewis on February 3.
Heading into this weekend, Jack Bolz and Omar Hoyos lead the team in kills with 96 averaging 2.91 per set. In the assist category, freshman Georgi Zahariev leads with 268 assists averaging 8.12 per set. On the defensive side, Paul Wyszynski paces the team with 58 digs (1.76).
The Patriots will host the 2023 National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship from May 4-May 6 at EagleBank Arena. It will mark 33 years since Mason last hosted the NCAA Championship in the respective sport. In 1990 the Patriots hosted Long Beach State, USC, Rutgers-Newark, and Ball State.
