Kropp Gets 100th Win in Five-Set Thriller with New Jersey City

Jersey City, NJ| Graduate student Mark Jensen tied the St. Joseph's College (L.I.) single-match kill record with 22 kills to guide the Golden Eagles to a come-from-behind win over New Jersey City University on Monday evening.  The 3-2 victory marks head coach Bill Kropp's 100th win at the helm of the men's volleyball team.

The Golden Eagles improve to 14-3 on the season and remain unbeaten in Skyline action with a 4-0 record. The Gothic Knights fall to 13-7 overall, 3-3 Skyline.

Off to a slow start, the Golden Eagles hit just .026 in the first set, and following the opening point of the game, the Gothic Knights maintained control for the 25-21 win. The second set saw a bit more of an even performance from both sides but ultimately it was NJCU's Jonathan Andrews who finished off the set with back-to-back kills for the 26-24 win putting the hosts ahead 2-0.

The Golden Eagles turned it around in the third set hitting .297 as a team maintaining a lead wire-to-wire to come away with a 25-20 win. SJC opened set four with five of the first six points and held a lead until three unanswered points from NJCU knotted the score at 9. A back and forth battle followed before consecutive NJCU kills gave them their first match-point opportunity. Down 24-21, the Golden Eagles went on to score five straight points to claim the 26-24 win and push the match to a deciding fifth set. The teams exchanged points to open the frame but a 5-1 spurt from the Golden Eagles midway through the set provided some breathing room before and NJCU service error secured the 15-10 win.

Jensen's 22 kills led all players in the match and the right-side finished hitting .308 with nine digs and two blocks. Paul Curaro knocked down 18 kills and picked up 12 digs. Mark Williams pitched in with a double-double performance as well with 11 kills and a team-best 13 digs.

Setter Clint Johnson tossed a match-high 52 assists while collecting seven digs and three blocks. Libero Jason Siriban finished with 12 digs and three assists.

NJCU was led by a 20-kill performance from Andrews who also recorded 10 digs and two aces. Brandon DaSilva added 13 kills with five blocks and James Bajor rounded out the top scorers with 12 kills and 13 digs. Setter Leo Ferrari dished 44 assists and libero Daniel Esteva recorded a match-best 17 digs.

The Golden Eagles return to Skyline Conference action on Wednesday, March 16 when they travel to take on SUNY Purchase at 7:00 pm.