NEWARK, NJ–Sophomore Alessandro Negri registered a career-best 26 kills but it wasn't enough as visiting Harvard held off a late comeback by NJIT to record a 3-2 EIVA Conference road conference win Friday evening inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center.
Harvard, which notched its first win in EIVA Conference action Friday, moves to 1-6 in EIVA and 8-13 overall while the Highlanders move to 2-6 in the EIVA and 8-14 overall.
The Crimson led 2-0 after a 25-19 win in the first set and 25-22 victory in the second set. The Highlanders rallied in the third frame for a 25-22 victory and forced a fifth and final set with a 25-23 victory in the fourth frame. The deciding set, which saw 13 ties and three lead changes saw its final tie at 16-all and Harvard scored the final two points of the match to record the 3-2 road victory.
NJIT finished the match hitting .217 as a team led by Negri's 26 career kills, marking the most kills in the EIVA Conference this season. He combined for a .315 hitting percentage to go along with nine digs and two service aces.
Graduate student Martin de Chavarria recorded nine kills for a .294 hitting percentage with four total blocks (one solo, three assists) and senior Carson Williams added six kills, hitting .273 for the night to go along with six total blocks (one solo, five assists).
Griffin Fieseler tallied up 33 assists in four sets, adding seven digs and three kills.
NJIT held a huge advantage in the service ace category – 12-to-4 paced by de Chavarria's match-best four aces.
Harvard's Kade McGovern led the Crimson with 17 kills followed by Zach Berty with 11. James Bardin paced the match with 39 assists and libero Logan Shepherd combined for 10 digs.
NJIT will wrap up the home portion of its schedule on Saturday at 4pm against Harvard. In pregame ceremonies, NJIT will honor its two graduate students Jens Feldthus and Roque Nido and its graduating seniors – Carson Williams, Mason Matos, Julian Meissner, Martin de Chavarria and AJ Jones.
The EIVA tournament will be played April 19-22, hosted by the top seed. The bracket and tiebreak information can be found on EIVAVolleyball.com.
