Wilkes-Barre, PA - The John Jay men's volleyball opened the 2025 season with two victories on Sunday afternoon, defeating Penn State Schuylkill, 3-0 (25-9; 25-9; 25-12), and the host Wilkes, 3-0 (25-18; 25-19; 25-21) at the Wilkes Tri-Match.
John Jay starts the season 2-0 for the first time since 2019. PSU Schuylkill falls to 0-2 on the season, while Wilkes falls to 2-6.
John Jay 3, Penn State Schuylkill 0
- The two teams traded early points before the Bloodhounds went on a 10-0 run in taking an 11-2 lead. Logan Ramos served, and he recorded two aces during the run.
- The Nittany Lions rattled off two straight points before the Bloodhounds staged a 10-2 run, increasing their lead to 21-6 in the first set as Omar Alaoui recorded an ace during this spurt. A kill by Ramos concluded the first set in John Jay's favor.
- The Bloodhounds sparked a 6-1 run to open the second set. PSU Schuylkill got to within four, 7-3, before John Jay utilized a 15-3 burst, taking a 22-6 lead. The Bloodhounds scored three of the final four points for the second-set winner.
- John Jay hit 0.529 in the second set, finishing with 11 kills and two errors.
- The Bloodhounds opened the third set on an 8-1 run, capped by a Sebastian Rodriguez ace. John Jay outscored PSU Schuylkill, 10-6, in building an 18-7 lead, with Steven Ajazi notching an ace.
- For the match, Ajazi led the way with five kills. Newcomer Nick Fuentes had four kills, while Jaden Lamarre, Ramos, Maxwell Law, Attila Nerette, and Matthew Vong had three kills.
- Daniel Gonzalez Verdejo had 17 assists and a team-leading six digs. Lamarre and Micah Rossman had four, while Evan Wandersee had three digs.
- PSU Schuylkill was led by Reno Plesnarski, who had five kills. Liam Ruggie had seven assists while leading the way for the visitors with five digs.
John Jay 3, Wilkes 0
- The Bloodhounds earned their second win of the day on the strength of a 20-kill third set as they defeated Wilkes, 3-0 (25-18; 25-19; 25-21).
- The 44 total kills in a three-match set are currently tied for the eighth most in the country this year with Cal Lutheran, NYU, Juniata, Vassar, Penn State-Behrend, and Hobart.
- Fuentes led the way with 14 kills, eight digs, and three aces. Ramos recorded a double-double, finishing with 11 kills and 11 digs.
- Alaoui and Nerette finished with six kills each. Adam Bainey recorded two blocks and five kills.
- Jimmy Thinlay had 34 assists, seven digs, and two kills in the win, while Rossman added a team-high 12 digs.
- Jackson Shafer concluded the match with 13 kills and nine digs. Joshua Conley had 14 assists and six digs.
- The Colonels held a 4-1 advantage before Nerette recorded the kill to stop the Wilkes run to commence the first set.
- Wilkes used a 6-3 burst to double up the Bloodhounds, 10-5, following an attack error by Bainey.
- John Jay roared back in the set on the strength of a 9-0 run, capped by an ace from Fuentes. The two teams traded points, with Wilkes cutting the deficit to 21-18. John Jay closed the set with four straight points to go up 1-0.
- The second set began similarly to the first, with both teams trading points. With the set tied 4-4, John Jay outscored Wilkes, 10-5, to take a 14-9 lead.
The Colonels closed the gap before Nerette killed the rally, keeping John Jay ahead by three, 16-13.Â
- The Bloodhounds finished the set scoring 9 of the final 15 points, with Fuentes earning the kill to go ahead 2-0 in the set.Â
- In the third set, the teams were tied at 7-7 following another kill from Fuentes. Fuentes added an ace to make it 9-7.
- Fourteen of the Bloodhounds' final 16 points came off kills, with Ramos and Fuentes combining for ten as Ramos had six during the 16-11 run.
- For the match, the Bloodhounds hit .207 while posting seven aces. Wilkes hit just .126 and had 17 errors.
- John Jay closes out their three-game road trip Tuesday at Kean. The first serve is set for 7:00 p.m.
