Box Score
JERSEY CITY, NJ - The Crimson Eagles got back to their winning ways Tuesday evening against conference foe New Jersey City University, downing the Gothic Knights on the road 3-1.
Behind a .342 hitting clip for the match, PBU upended the host group by scores of 21-25, 25-17, 25-21, 25-16.
Ranked eighth in the latest NCAA III polls, the visitors had some trouble from the outset. NJCU surprised the Crimson Eagles by knocking down .435 percent of their swings during the opening frame throughout a rally that encountered 17 ties and/or lead changes.
After going down 7-4 from the get-go, the Gothic Knights pieced together a 5-2 mini-rally as things would go back and forth the rest of the way. With play locked at 20-apiece, the Gothic Knights seized the opportunity, churning out five of the next six points fueled by four PBU blunders down the stretch to snag a stunning 25-21 win.
With momentum in New Jersey's pocket, the host squad jumped out to a 6-5 lead during the second stanza and pushed the edge to 13-11 midway through the period. However, PBU finally found their groove and closed out the game on a 14-6 run, pummeling the Gothic Knights with 11 kills versus just two attack miscues.
The Crimson Eagles secured the third set with a sturdy defensive effort that saw NJCU forced into nine attack errors. Despite 15 ties and nine lead changes, PBU snagged the crucial frame by putting up nine of their 17 total block assists for night, thwarting several crucial strikes from their counterpart during a 25-21 win.
Looking to close out the contest during frame four, the Crimson Eagles did just that, stiff-arming the Gothic Knights into a -.094 hitting percentage en route to their most lopsided triumph of the night. In fact, the visitors corralled NJCU into more errors (nine) than spikes (six) during the set while manufacturing a .346 clip themselves. PBU boasted a 75 percent sideout rate (12-16) in the 25-16 win.
Remaining perfect in Metro play, Tuesday's triumph guarantees the volleyball team at least a share of the regular season divisional championship with two league outings left. The Crimson Eagles improve to 17-5 (10-0 Metro) on the year while the Gothic Knights slip to 9-12 (2-8 Metro).
Justin Brubaker paved the way with 13 kills for the contest and Ethan Mawhinney added 11 on a .529 hitting percentage. Josh Tuttle added 10 spikes and Jon Rose chipped in with nine slams in just 11 attempts (.727). Drew Dillon added 43 assists in the win to go with nine digs.
The volleyball squad will return to the court on Friday during a date with Stevenson University on the road at 7:00 pm.
