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NJIT Wins Marathon Thriller, Holds Off Tigers 3-2 In Dillon Gym
March 23, 2016 | Men's Volleyball
BOX SCORE
A spirited battle ended in disputed fashion Tuesday night in Dillon Gym, but it was the NJIT men's volleyball team that walked away with an important 3-2 win in the first of a home-and-home series this week.
The Highlanders moved to 5-3 in EIVA play with the 25-22, 23-25, 25-13, 23-25, 15-13 victory in Dillon. The Tigers (3-5 EIVA) produced a spirited rally in the fourth set to force the dramatic finale, but they simply had no answer for NJIT outside Jabarry Goodridge, who led the Highlanders with 30 kills.
His final kill was be the one that left Princeton stunned at the end of the match. Leading 14-13, Goodridge took a swing from the right side to the middle of the court, where Kendall Ratter appeared to get his hand on the ball and deflect it into the net, where Mike Fuerst was able to make contact and get it back in play.
At that point, though, the head official blew his whistle and called the ball down before Ratter made the touch. Though the officials conferred together, the call stood and NJIT moved to wins ahead of Princeton in the race for the fourth playoff spot in the EIVA.
The Tigers had a balanced offensive attack, with Devin Stearns and Kendall Ratter sharing the team lead with 12 kills, while Fuerst added 11. Ratter had Princeton's most efficient night, hitting .556 overall (12-2-18), while Billy Andrew had eight kills without an error (.571).
Junior Chris Kennedy had 29 assists for Princeton, while Corry Short had five digs. The two teams will play again in Newark Friday night at 7 pm.