Volleyball to Face No. 3 Sage in Skyline Tournament

Photo courtesy of Ramapo Athletics

New York University defeated the Ramapo men’s volleyball team in a tight, contested five-set match 3-2 (27-25, 26-28, 22-25, 25-22, 15-11) on Tuesday night at the Bradley Center. The Violets, who are ranked No. 12 in the latest AVCA Top 15 poll, improve to 14-13, while the Roadrunners fall to 18-14. This was Ramapo’s last regular season match.

Justin Feigeles had the most kills during the game, with 22 on 41 attempts and only eight errors to hit .341 for the match. He also had a team high 12 digs along with two blocks. Paul Close posted 18 kills, six digs and four blocks. Nick Amos added eight kills, five blocks and two aces. The team hit .218 in the match with 63 kills on 147 attempts with 31 errors.

NYU was lead by Phil Bueno with 17 kills, four digs and four blocks. Nick Benson added 16 kills, seven digs and three blocks, while Chase Corbett added nine kills, five assisted blocks and one solo block. 

Derek Chiu had a team high 43 assists, while Ben Oxnard posted a team high 14 digs on defense. Sean Lehay led the team with seven total blocks in the match, while the Violets hit .188 in the match with 58 kills on 144 attempts with 31 errors.

The Roadrunners earned the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Skyline Men’s Volleyball Tournament. They will take on No. 3 The Sage Colleges on Friday at 7 p.m.

The last two matchups against No. 3 Sage this season both ended with Ramapo sweeping the Gators 3-0. 

Some key players on Sage’s team are middle hitter Ryan Guyton and setter Casey Fitzpatrick. Guyton was nationally ranked 18th in aces per set in 2015, while Fitzpatrick was awarded Second-Team All-Skyline Conference and was ranked 21st nationally for digs per game (2.66) last season.

The No. 1 seed for the tournament is Ramapo’s Skyline Conference rival Kean University. 

The four-time defending champs are ranked No. 11 in the latest AVCA Division III Poll and are undefeated in conference play. 

If Ramapo can make their way to the championship game, Kean might be dethroned from the championship reign. The winner of the Skyline Championship game gets an automatic bid to the 2016 NCAA Division III Men’s Volleyball Championship.

rcarillo@ramapo.edu