Men's Volleyball Wins Third Straight, Sweeps Ball State

Published: Monday, January 27, 2020

The NJIT men's volleyball team won its third straight match of the season, sweeping visiting Ball State, 3-0, Saturday evening in men's volleyball non-conference action at NJIT's Wellness and Events Center.

The win over Ball State marks the third straight win for NJIT, who have won the last four-out-of-five matches, improving to 4-2 overall.  The win over the Cardinals marks the first all-time win against Ball State.

As a team, NJIT combined for a .425 hitting percentage, led in front of the net, 7-to-3 and edged the Cardinals in service aces, 5-to-3.

Freshman Julian Meissner led the match with 16 kills followed by Jens Feldthus with 14.  Meissner finished the match, hitting .520 while Feldthus combined for a .423 hitting percentage.

Setter Roque Nido notched 33 assists and five digs for the Highlanders while sophomore libero Will Andrews shared match-high honors with eight digs.  Junior Alvaro Gimeno added seven kills and seven digs.

In front of the net, NJIT freshman Martin de Chavarria registered four total blocks (one solo, three assists) while Luca Berger and Meissner added three block assists apiece.

Ball State's Kaleb Jenness notched 10 kills while setter Jake Romano paced the Cardinals with 12 assists.  Jenness led the team with eight digs to share match-high honors.

The opening set of the match was back and forth nearly the entire time as both teams went on runs and traded leads. NJIT held two set points at 24-23 and 25-24 which Ball State fought off both times. The third time was a charm for the Highlanders as they took a 1-0 lead by scoring the final two points of the set behind an impressive .444 hitting percentage (14k, 2e, 27a), six kills from Jens Feldthus and five kills from Julian Meissner.

NJIT started off the second frame ahead 8-2 after a 6-1 run and later extended its lead to 16-8 after five consecutive points.  The Highlanders closed out the set on an 6-2 spurt, capped by back-to-back kills from Alvaro Gimeno and Luca Berger for a 25-16 win.  NJIT's combined for a .609 hitting percentage, registering 16 kills.

Tied at 4-4 in the third set, NJIT scored four straight points, taking an 8-4 lead, resulting in a Ball State timeout.  The set saw another tie at 15 as two sides continued to trade points and Ball State eventually earned a set point with the score 24-23. NJIT took a timeout to regroup and the Highlanders scored three straight to close out the match.

The Highlanders will return to action on February 1 at 4 p.m., welcoming first-time opponent St. Francis Brooklyn inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center.