TIGERVILLE, SC–North Greenville won the first two sets 25-20 and 25-22 but the visiting Highlanders rallied back to take the next three sets 25-15, 25-23 and 15-13 to secure the 3-2 comeback victory on the road in the first of three matches for the Highlanders Hayes Gymnasium.
NJIT, winners of the last two-out-of-three matches, improved to 7-10 on the season while North Greenville moved to 12-6 overall.
The Highlanders had three players with double-digit kills – Josh Gregg (17), Antonio Feliciano (17) and Jens Feldthus (15). Gregg, a sophomore outside hitter, notched his first double-double of his career with a personal-best 17 kills and 14 digs. His five service aces are a new career-best which paced the Highlanders to a 13-2 advantage in that category.
Feliciano notched a new personal-best mark of 17 kills and hit .382 for the match while Feldthus 15 kills were the most by the graduate student this season.
Graduate student setter Roque Nido piled up 29 assists, six digs, five kills, three total blocks and three aces. Libero Christian Trevino recorded eight digs.
In the fifth and deciding set, saw 10 ties - the final at 10-all, which saw the Highlanders score four straight points for a 13-10 lead. North Greenville answered and slimmed the NJIT lead to one 14-13, but a kill by NJIT's Josh Gregg secured the 3-2 comeback victory with a 15-13 win in the final frame.
In the first set, North Greenville hit an impressive .357 with 14 kills on 28 attempts and just four errors. NJIT held a two-point lead until 11-11 which saw North Green go on a 4-1 run to jump ahead 15-12. North Greenville pushed its lead to as many as five in the late 20's behind a 5-1 run for a 23-18 advantage, resulting in a Highlander timeout. NJIT slimmed the lead to as many as four, 24-20, on a pair of kills by Josh Gregg but North Greenville put the set away with a kill of their own for a 25-20 victory.
NJIT jumped out to a quick 8-4 advantage in the second set behind back-to-back kills from Andrew Fedmasu and Antonio Feliciano. North Greenville rallied back to knot the set at 12-all but the Highlanders kept a three-point lead, 17-14. The home team made another late push, tying the set at 20-all and took its first lead of the set, 21-20, and went on a 5-2 run to go up 2-0 with a 25-22 win.
Visiting NJIT bounced back in the third set, registering an impressive .591 hitting percentage on 14 kills, 22 attempts and just one error. NJIT led from start to finish and opened up the set in the early teens to take a seven-point lead, 19-12, using a 5-1 run and held on for a 25-15 win in the third set.
NJIT continued its momentum into the fourth set and forced a fifth and deciding frame with a 25-23 victory. Both teams traded points through the late teens with the Highlanders, taking a two-point lead, 22-20, after consecutive kills. North Greenville pulled within one, 24-23, but NJIT's Jens Feldthus closed out the frame with a kill for a 25-23 victory.
The Highlanders will continue its spring break trip in North Carolina and return to action against Saint Francis U (March 16) and Queens (March 17) before returning home for EIVA Conference action against George Mason on March 21 at 6pm.
