Meissner Registers Career-Best 31 Kills to Lead No. 15 NJIT in Five Set Thriller Against Charleston

Junior Julian Meissner registered a career-best 31 kills to lead No. 15 NJIT in a 3-2 five set thriller over Charleston Saturday afternoon in EIVA Conference men's volleyball action inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center.

NJIT, which is ranked No. 15 in the latest AVCA Coaches Top 15 poll for the second straight week, completes the season series sweep against Charleston, improving to 11-6 overall and 6-2 in the conference. The Highlanders swept the Golden Eagles, 3-0 on March 18.

The 31 kills for Meissner is the second-highest kill total at NJIT since 2007 (Leonardo Paludo; 37 kills vs. East Stroudsburg (March 6) and tied for second-most kills in the nation in a five-set match. Assistant Coach Jabarry Goodridge '17 recorded 30 kills at Princeton on March 22, 2016.

Meissner finished the match hitting .449 on 49 attempts and nine errors. He added two aces and two block assists.

Charleston (5-11, 2-8 EIVA) won the first set, 25-21 behind a .583 clip but the Highlanders answered with back-to-back wins in the second and third frame, 27-25, 25-19, to go ahead, 2-1. The Golden Eagles forced a fifth and deciding set with a 25-21 victory in the fourth frame.

In the fifth and deciding set, NJIT took an early, 5-2 lead, resulting in a Charleston timeout. NJIT scored three consecutive points, capped by an ace by Julian Meissner for a 10-7 advantage and the player of the match Meissner recorded the final three points (all kills) to take the set, 15-9, and secure the five-set 3-2 thriller victory.

In addition to Meissner's 31 kills, middle Martin de Chavarria combined for 10 kills on 19 swings with just one error for a .474 clip. Freshman Alessandro Negri posted nine kills on 17 attempts, combining for a .474 hitting percentage in the win.

Setter Roque Nido and Griffin Fieseler split time at the setting position, piling up 35 and 21 assists respectively. Libero Joe Kennedy notched eight digs followed by Negri (7), Fieseler (5) and Meissner (5).

In front of the net, Chavarria, ranked second in the nation in blocks per set entering this weekend, recorded five block assists followed by Negri (4), Carson Williams (4) and Fieseler (3).

NJIT held a huge advantage in the service ace category, 8-to-2, led by a pair of aces from Meissner and Nido.

Charleston's Jake Vorburger paced the Golden Eagles with 20 kills and eight digs. Diego Villafane recorded a match-best 54 assists and Ian Vazquez.

The first set, which saw 12 ties and four lead changes, saw visiting Charleston take a two-point lead, 21-19 and later scored the final four points of the set for a 25-21 victory.

NJIT took control of the second frame early, jumping out to a 12-8 advantage on an ace by Roque Nido. The scored four consecutive points, including an ace by Zach Hresko, pushing the Highlander lead to six, 16-10, resulting in a Golden Eagles timeout. Charleston rallied back to knotting the match at 17-all on a 7-1 run. The set saw three more ties the final at 25 and NJIT closed out the set scoring the final three points for a 27-25 victory knotting the match at 1-1.

NJIT scored the first three points of the third set and Charleston used a 4-1 run to tie the set early at 4-4. The Highlanders went on a 9-1 run to take a 15-8 lead, capped on a kill by middle Martin de Chavarria. NJIT pushed its advantage to 20-12 and finished the frame on a 5-1 run for a 25-19 win.

Both teams went back and forth in the fourth frame early, which saw five ties and two lead changes. NJIT held a one-point lead, 11-10 but the Golden Eagles rallied for the next eight out of nine points for a 19-12 advantage. NJIT rallied back to two, 23-21, but the Golden Eagles scored the last two points to force a fifth and deciding set for a 25-21 victory.

NJIT will return to action next weekend with a pair of EIVA Conference road matches at George Mason March 25 (7 p.m.) and Princeton March 26 (5 p.m.). Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+