Men’s volleyball splits a pair of Skyline matches on Long Island

Patchogue, NY –The University of New Jersey City men’s volleyball team played two Skyline Conference games on Sunday, March 6 against St. Joseph’s College-Long Island and Yeshiva University. The Gothic Knights fell to the host Golden Eagles in straight sets (25-20, 25-16, 25-22), but then bounced back to the Maccabees in straight sets (25-12, 25-10, 25-12) .

Game 1:

Jersey City (11-6, 1-2 Skyline) played three tight sets with St. Joe’s (12-2, 2-0 Skyline), but unfortunately couldn’t win in all of them. Senior outside hitter Jonathan Andrews (North Bergen, NJ/North Bergen) still had a solid game as he recorded double-digit wins for the seventh time this season. His 11 kills led all players and he tied the game best with three aces. Junior Tri-Captain Center Blocker Brandon DaSilva (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) landed seven kills on 16 swings with three errors (.250 hit percentage) to go with a solo block and an ace. Senior Libero Daniel Esteva (Union, NJ/Union) rounded out the stats leaders with a team-high 10 digs.

Game 2:

NJCU controlled their game against Yeshiva (1-3, 0-2 Skyline) and trailed junior Chris Castillo (North Bergen, NJ/High Tech). The opposite led the Gothic Knights in kills (9) and total blocks (3) and made pocket aces and a dig. His kill total came from 12 total swings with just two errors (.583).

Rookie Center Blocker Nate Aguilar (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) also showed eight kills on 10 swings with a single error (.700) to go with pocket aces. Another freshman, outside hitter Ryan Lin (Union, NJ/Union) also recorded eight kills, taking 13 shots with two errors (.462).

Senior setter Aaron Mantille (Kearny, NJ/Kearny) provided 36 career and game assists against the Maccabees and also tied the game high with a season-best eight digs – he also had a pair of aces. Junior Nico Figueroa (Jersey City, NJ/County Prep) got the libero nod in this one and tied Mantilla with a season-high eight digs. First-year student Anthony Trivers (Washington Township, NJ/Washington Township) started on the outside and led all players with a season-high three aces. He also set season best records for kills (5) and digs (6).

Following:

The Vert et Or return home for their next four games, including three consecutive Skyline tilts. Things start with a 7:00 p.m. conference matchup with Sarah Lawrence College on Tuesday night, March 8, followed by another 7:00 p.m. Skyline game with Ramapo College on Thursday night, March 10.