FAIRFIELD, CT–The NJIT men's volleyball team won its fourth straight match of the season paced by senior Alessandro Negri's match-best 15 kills as the Highlanders defeated Sacred Heart 3-1 in EIVA Conference men's volleyball action Friday evening inside the William H. Pitt Center.
NJIT improved to 11-12 overall, 5-4 in the EIVA while Sacred Heart moved to 6-16 overall, 0-11 in the EIVA. The Highlanders have reached 11 or more wins in the last four out of five seasons under head coach Danny Goncalves who is in his 11th season at the helm of the Highlanders.
The Highlanders won the first two sets 25-12 and 25-23. Sacred Heart rallied in the third frame combining for a 25-23 victory of their own but it was the Highlanders who secured the 3-1 EIVA road victory with a 25-19 win in the fourth set.
In addition to Negri's match-best 15 kills, Josh Gregg combined for 12 kills while Andrew Fedmasu and Braeden Goebbert each registered seven and six kills respectively in the victory. Goebbert registered a .417 hitting percentage in the win.
Senior setter Gil Zyndorf led NJIT with 39 assists while Negri and libero Diego Lopez posted eight digs followed by seven from Gregg and Zyndorf.
NJIT held a slight edge in the service ace category (7-6) led by Gregg and Goebbert with three aces each.
A 19-to-9 team blocking advantage for the Highlanders was led by Fedmasu with 11 total blocks (five solo, six assist) and Goebbert with seven (one solo, six assist). The 11 total blocks for Fedmasu is a personal-best mark.
NJIT took a commanding 10-2 lead to start the first set behind eight straight points. The Highlanders took its first double-digit lead, 15-5, as NJIT scored four straight points. The visitors extended its lead to 12, 19-7, on a block assist by Josh Gregg and Braeden Goebbert. Sacred Heart cut the Highlanders lead to 10, 22-12, but NJIT scored the final three points for a dominant performance to take set one, 25-12. Alessandro Negri led the frame with five kills and three digs while Gregg added three kills on a .286 hitting percentage. As a team, NJIT hit .240 for the frame.
Both teams went back and forth in set two with Sacred Heart leading by one, 14-13, NJIT scored back-to-back points to go ahead by one, 15-14, and later pushed its lead to as many as four, 21-17, capped by an ace by Gregg. NJIT closed out the set on a 3-1 run to take a 2-0 lead with a 25-23 victory.
Another tight set throughout the third frame with neither team leading by more than two but back to back service aces by the Pioneers to put Sacred Heart ahead 21-19, resulted in a Highlander timeout. Three straight points gave the home team a three-point lead, 23-20, but NJIT rallied back to close the gap to within one, 24-23. The Pioneers scored the final point of the set to take a 25-23 win and head to the fourth set. Both teams hit .320 in the third set.
NJIT took control of the fourth set with an 11-4 lead and extended its advantage to 14-5 behind an 8-1 run for the Highlanders. Sacred Heart inched their way back into the set, cutting the Highlanders deficit to seven, 19-12. The Pioneers used a 4-1 spurt to close the Highlander gap to six, 20-14 and then to four, 22-18 but the Highlanders closed out the match on a 3-1 run capped by a kill by Andrew Fedmasu to secure the 3-1 road victory.
Next Up
Both teams will return to action on Saturday at 3pm. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
