JERSEY CITY, N.J. – The Yeshiva University men's volleyball team suffered a hard-fought loss to New Jersey City University, 3-1, at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center on Thursday evening. The Gothic Knights advance to 4-5, while the Maccabees drop to 1-1.

Yeshiva did manage to win a set over NJCU for the first time in 33 head-to-head meetings.

Leading the way for the Maccabees was senior outside hitter Chaim Aryeh Rubin, who slammed home eight kills and led all players with just as many digs. The Skokie native produced 9.5 points in the process. Making his collegiate debut, sophomore defensive specialist Eliyahou Benhamou produced five kills and chipped in on defense with two block assists and a pair of digs, while second-year setter Isaac Pomerance produced 12 assists and three service aces, both team-highs. The Los Angeles native also scored two kills and had three digs.

After dropping the first set, 25-11, Pomerance scored back-to-back aces to give the Blue and White a 12-9 advantage in the second game. The Gothic Knights countered with five straight points to regain the lead, 14-12. With NJCU up by a score of 20-17, Yeshiva generated four straight points to jump ahead. The Gothic Knights answered with a 3-0 run to go up, 23-21. Rubin slammed the ball through NJCU's defense for a kill and that sparked a run for YU. After the Maccabees scored two more points to earn a set-point opportunity (24-23), Pomerance set Benhamou up for the kill to clinch the game for the Maccabees, 25-23.

In the third stanza, Rubin produced a kill to propel YU to three straight points to pull to within two, at 17-15. However, a 5-1 run by the Gothic Knights gave the home a team a 22-16 advantage. Yeshiva scored the set's next two points, but it was not enough, as NJCU went on to win the third game, 25-19, and put Yeshiva on the brink.

The Maccabees came flying out of the gate in the fourth set, as a kill by Rubin and an ace by Pomerance sparked an early run to put YU up, 8-2. Later in the game, Rubin successfully attacked the ball for the kill to give the Macs a 14-8 hold. The Gothic Knights shifted momentum into its favor by rallying for a 13-3 run to jump out to a 21-17 advantage. The Maccabees managed to narrow the deficit to 21-19, but NJCU scored the set's final four points to clinch the game, 25-19, and the match, 3-1.

For the evening, sophomore opposite hitter Derek Orenshein anchored the defense with five digs, while helping Yeshiva's offense with three assists. Graduate student Adam Gerszberg had three kills with two digs, while senior outside hitter Amitai Miller and classmate Sibi Selvarajah each had solid defensive games with four digs. Sophomore outside hitter Jonathan Apsan had a kill and junior middle blocker Yosef Ajami registered a dig. Sophomore outside hitter Joseph Sulaymanov produced two digs of his own.

For NJCU, sophomore middle blocker Christian Ramirez slammed home 11 kills, scored two aces, and produced four blocks. Second-year right side hitter Joseph Stawicki added 10 kills with a pair of blocks, while sophomore outside hitter Jonathan Andrews successfully attacked the ball for nine kills and helped defensively with six digs. Freshman outside hitter Leo Ferrari had just as many digs to go along with two blocks.

Yeshiva will travel to the Bronx on Sunday, for a non-conference matchup at Lehman College. First serve is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.