NJIT Upsets No. 2 Seed Harvard, Advances to Conference Finals
Third-seeded NJIT is heading to the EIVA Conference finals for the second time in program history after upsetting second-seeded Harvard, 3-1, Thursday afternoon in the EIVA Conference semifinals inside Rec Hall.
NJIT (17-10), which won its fourth straight match of the season, dropped the first set, 25-17, but bounced back in the next three frames 25-21, 25-18 and 25-22 to advance to the EIVA Conference finals for just the second time in program history (last time 1999 vs. Penn State).
The 17 wins are the most wins since the 2007 season when the Highlanders finished with 19.
NJIT was paced by three players who reached double-digit kills – Jens Feldthus (15), Alessandro Negri (13) and Julian Meissner (12). Middle blocker Martin de Chavarria added nine kills and combined for a .412 hitting percentage.
Negri registered his second career double-double, recording 13 kills and 12 digs in the victory for the Highlanders.
Senior setter Roque Nido notched 44 assists, five digs and two aces while libero Joe Kennedy posted 11 digs.
Carson Williams combined for four block assists followed by Negri with three block assists.
Harvard jumped out to a quick 7-3 lead resulting in a Highlander timeout. NJIT rallied back to cut the deficit to three, 10-7, but Harvard took its largest lead of the set, 17-11, and cruised to a 25-17 win to take the first set.
Trailing 4-1 in the second frame, the Highlanders scored the next eight consecutive points to pull ahead, 9-4 and extended its lead to 14-9. Harvard slimmed the Highlander lead to one, 17-16, on a block assist and knotted the set at 19-all on a block solo by Ethan McCrary. NJIT scored the final five points of the set capped by an ace from Martin de Chavarria for a 25-21 win to tie the match at 1-1.
In the third set, both teams traded points early on with NJIT holding a four-point lead, 10-6, after back-to-back points. NJIT scored the next 10-out-of-12 points for a 20-12 advantage. The Highlanders held a comfortable lead and secured the set with a 25-18 win on a kill by Jens Feldthus to go ahead 2-1.
NJIT got off to a quick start again in the fourth set 8-4 and went ahead by three, 14-11, on a Harvard error. The Crimson cut the Highlander deficit to one 18-17 but the Highlanders increased its lead to four, 24-20, on a kill by Jens Feldthus. Harvard scored two straight points to cut the Highlander lead to two, 24-22, resulting in an NJIT timeout. Out of the timeout, NJIT's Feldthus recorded the final point of the match to secure the 3-1 victory with a 25-22 win.
NJIT, which advanced to the EIVA Conference finals, will play the winner of the No. 2 Penn State/Princeton semifinal match. The match will begin at 7 p.m. and be streamed live on B1G+.