Post Game Comments

NEWARK, NJ – After a five set loss to Penn State the night before, the NJIT men's volleyball team defeated EIVA opponent Saint Francis U 3-2 in a five-set tilt on Saturday night at the Fleisher Athletic Center.

The Highlanders (5-5, 1-1 EIVA) were led by Raymond Kowalski who tallied 16 kills six digs and two blocks, followed by Jabarry Goodridge who had 15 kills seven digs and one block.

Senior Goodridge surpassed 1000 career kills in the win, and now has 1010 career kills.

Also putting on a show for NJIT was Luke Robbe who notched 11 kills on 17 attempts and no errors, while adding three blocks.

Cameron Tait added a game-high 47 assists and Shannon Heckman carried the defense with 11 digs.

The Red Flash's (4-8, 0-3 EIVA) Michael Fisher, who is second in the EIVA in total kills, posted a game-high 17 kills, with two serving aces and three blocks. Jeff Hogan added 15 kills and a game-high 12 digs.

NJIT took the first set 25-22 in a close set that the Highlanders trailed early on, until a Brad Thele service ace turned tied up the game at 7-7, and a kill by senior Goodridge gave them a lead that would last till the end of the set.

Saint Francis U took the second and third sets, 25-18 and 25-22 respectively, despite an NJIT 7-0 run to tie the third 17-17 and six kills by junior Kowalski.

The Highlanders didn't give up and battled back in the fourth to tie the match 2-2. NJIT never wavered, and led the entire set, with Goodridge and Kowalski tallying 12 kills themselves in the 25-18 win.

With the momentum going NJIT's way, the Highlanders won the fifth and final set 15-11, with redshirt senior Robbe earning a team-high three kills and .750 hitting percentage.

The Highlanders head to EIVA opponent Princeton on February 14 for a 7pm match.