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Purdue Fort Wayne
NJIT
'Dons Sweep Again, Down Highlanders in Three
1/9/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
Jan. 9, 2010
Fort Wayne, IN - Another day, another sweep for the 'Dons. A balanced scoring attack led by veterans Oliver Kook and Ivan Matos gave IPFW a 3-0 victory over the NJIT Highlanders, 30-23, 30-16, 30-27.
The 'Dons jumped out to an early 8-4 lead in the first set, highlighted by back-to-back kills by freshman Rob Samp. The 'Dons pushed their early lead to seven at 22-15 before a four point Highlander run put the 'Dons advantage in jeopardy. There to answer the call were two of Coach Ball's most seasoned vets, as Oliver Kook and Darryl Shank fueled a five-point IPFW run to pad the lead. Senior Kevin Goncalves fired an ace to seal a 30-23 first-set victory.
Junior libero Shaun Dryden posted an impressive nine digs, as Kook led the offensive attack, converting kills on six of his eight attacks in the opening frame.
A dominant performance by the Mastodon offense put the set out of reach early. With runs of three, three, four and six, the 'Dons found themselves with an 11-point lead at 24-13. A five-point run off the serve of Darryl Shank and a cross-court kill by senior Corey Stewart closed out set number two at 30-16 Mastodons.
Sophomore outside hitter Ivan Matos stole the show in the second, posting seven of the team's 19 kills in the set.
Head Coach Arnie Ball went with a new line-up for the third and final set and NJIT hopped out to an early advantage. The 'Dons first lead of the game didn't come until the 29th point of the set as freshman Elon Fyfield laced an ace to cap off a four-point run, giving IPFW a 15-14 lead. The 'Dons lead would reach as many as four at 26-22 before the Highlanders stormed back to knot the match at 26-26.
After trading serves, the Highlanders made back-to-back errors to give the 'Dons match point. For the second time in as many sets, Corey Stewart slammed home the final point, wrapping up the 3-0 sweep for IPFW.
Dryden posted 15 digs in two sets from his libero position, while Samp tallied a team-best 5 blocks on the night to lead the defensive effort. Matos posted 11 kills in two sets, while Kook closed the game with nine kills and a hitting percentage of .727.
The Volleydons will return to action Friday (Jan. 15) as they travel to Columbus, Ohio to face-off with in-conference foe Ohio State. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. from St. John Arena.
~Dons~
