April 2, 2008

Box Score

NEWARK, NJ - Timing may not have been everything, but it meant a lot for NJIT, which fought its way to a 3-2 win over visiting Princeton in an Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tait Division match Wednesday night in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher.

Princeton (9-8 overall and 4-5 in EIVA Tait) had slightly more points than NJIT in the line score (130-124), but it was the Highlanders (11-12; 4-7 EIVA Tait), celebrating Senior Night, who won the match by a 3-2 margin in games.

NJIT won game one, 30-28, behind a late rally fueled by a spectacular late serving run by one of its six seniors, Leonardo Paludo, who finished with seven aces in the game--all after his team trailed, 20-27. The seven aces were included among 10 straight service points for the senior.

The Highlanders then scored a tight 31-29 win in game two, before the Tigers won game three easily, 30-21, and forced a fifth game by taking game four, 30-27. NJIT led throughout the deciding game and held off a late Tiger spurt to win, 15-13.

NJIT had four players with double-figure kills totals, led by a season-high 16 kills for senior Greg Wagner. Charles Bell and Amobi Armstrong had 12 kills apiece and Paludo finished with 11.

Rodrigo Correa and senior Mike Nonnenmann shared the setting duties for the Highlanders and Nonnenmann finished with 32 assists and Correa had 20.

Paludo served an eye-popping nine aces, leading NJIT to a 14-9 advantage in that category.

Senior libero Chris Siddayao shared match digs honors, with 19 and freshman Scott McHugh, seeing his most extensive home action of the season, had 10 digs.

Wagner had four block assists to lead NJIT at the net, where the Highlanders had a slight 9-to-10 disadvantage in team blocks.

Princeton, which had won its last four meetings with NJIT, including a 3-1 victory in Princeton earlier this season on March 5, got 14 kills from Mike Vincent and 11 from Phillip Rosenberg. Brandon Denham had 44 assists, Jeff McCown served five aces and also produced a match-high six blocks (one solo, five assists).

Three Tigers registered double-figure kills totals--Ka'ohu Berg-Hee (19), Rosenberg (11) and Denham (10).

NJIT, which last beat Princeton in the 2005 season, started Wednesday night's match slowly and trailed, 18-27, before its come-from-behind rush to close game one. In a sport where a three-point lead is difficult to surmount once the score reaches the mid-20s, NJIT charged back behind Paludo's serving and scored 10 straight points. The run ended at 29-27 on a service error by Paludo, but Wagner capped the huge comeback with a kill for game point.

NJIT did not trail game two from 5-6 to 28-29, but the Highlanders never led by more than four points either. Facing game point at 28-29, NJIT clinched the game with three straight points, two on Wagner kills and game point on a Princeton attack error.

The momentum swung to Princeton with an easy 30-21 win in the third game and then the Tigers broke a 25-25 tie in game four and evened the match with a 5-2 run to close the fourth frame.

In the deciding game, the Highlanders jumped to a 3-0 lead and held the three-point bulge on six more times before going up 10-6. Pulling to within a point of clinching the match, 14-10, NJIT briefly lost its grip and Princeton ran off three straight points before Armstrong delivered match point with an emphatic spike into the middle of the Princeton side of the court.

NJIT's six seniors, honored in pre-match ceremonies, are: Matt Sasso, Nonnenmann, Paludo, Eduardo Welter, Siddayao and Wagner.

NJIT will close the regular season on April 12 with a 7 pm match at George Mason, ranked 12th in the latest CBS College Sports Network/AVCA Division I-II Men's Coaches Top 15 Poll. Mason (16-6) is the only team to beat the nation's top-ranked team, Penn State, this season. The Patriots defeated the Highlanders, 3-0, on February 16.