UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – NJIT men's volleyball dropped a 3-1 decision to #13 Penn State Saturday night in their second consecutive EIVA Conference match-up.
The Highlanders (13-9, 6-5 EIVA) were led by senior
Jabarry Goodridge who posted a game-high 23 kills, followed by
Brad Thele with nine and
Raymond Kowalski with seven.
Kevin Myren added four blocks while
Luke Robbe and
Ricardo Whitaker notched three apiece.
Whitaker tallied a game-high 47 assists and grabbed 10 digs while
Shannon Heckman made a game-high 14 digs.
For the Nittany Lions (16-9, 8-2 EIVA) Aiden Albrecht and Calvin Mende contributed 13 kills each with Albrecht also posting four blocks.
NJIT won the first set with seven kills from Goodridge, who leads the EIVA in kills (370), kills per set (4.57), points (428) and points per set (5.3). Taking an early 2-0 lead, the Highlanders never faltered winning 25-21.
In a close second set there were seven lead changes throughout. Each team battled back and forth until Penn State took a late 24-22 lead, and were able to hold on for the win after a three person block by Nathan Smith, Kevin Gear and Aiden Albrecht against Goodridge, 25-23.
After scoring four straight points in the middle of the third to take a 15-10 lead after three Highlander errors and a kill by Albrecht, the Nittany Lions never diminished their lead winning 25-21.
The final set had two lead changes and the score was tied four times. With an early 3-0 Penn State start, NJIT fought back earning five points with kills by
Kevin Myren and Goodridge and a serving ace from Whitaker. The lead would last until point 16, with three consecutive Highlander errors, the Nittany Lions regained the lead 17-16. NJIT would tie the score at 18 with another Goodridge kill and again at 19 with a Penn State error. But Albrecht's final kill of the match on their 20
th point gave the Nittany Lions the final lead never looking back winning 25-21.
NJIT will return to action when the Highlanders visit EIVA opponent George Mason on Friday April 7 for a 7pm match.
