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The top NJIT players at their position are capping off the decade with a college men’s volleyball national honor.
Off the Block announced on Friday the seven players selected to the NJIT All-Decade Starting Lineup presented by Off the Block.
The All-Decade Starting Lineup recognizes the best players to compete with a team since 2010. Similar to the starting lineup for a match, the All-Decade honor is comprised of a setter, opposite and libero along with two outside attackers and middle attackers.
The Off the Block staff determined the All-Decade Starting Lineup using a variety of factors including career statistical performance and the team’s overall success when a player was a member of the program.
This is also part of a series from Off the Block to celebrate the end of the decade in college men’s volleyball. Off the Block throughout the rest of 2019 will release an All-Decade Starting Lineup for every NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball team.
NJIT had five season with at least 10 wins during the decade. In addition, the Highlanders finished the 2016 season in fifth place and narrowly missed a berth to the four-team EIVA Tournament.
Off the Block is a national award winning website that was established in 2011 and is the nation’s leader in college men’s volleyball.
NJIT All-Decade Starting Lineup presented by Off the Block
Setter: Zak Robben
Opposite: Kajetan Borecki
Outside attacker: Jabarry Goodridge
Outside attacker: Alvaro Gimeno
Middle attacker: Luca Berger
Middle attacker: Luke Robbe
Libero: Brady Smith
Luca Berger (2018 – present)
Awards and honors: 2019 First-Team All-EIVA
Berger finished last season leading the EIVA and sixth in the nation with a 1.20 blocks per game average. Among his top performances featured a season-high 10 blocks in a near upset of the EIVA champions Princeton. In his first season at NJIT after transferring from Coker, Berger was second in the conference averaging 1.13 blocks per game. Berger also has more than a .380 attack percentage in each of his two seasons with the Highlanders.
Kajetan Borecki (2013-15)
Awards and honors: N/A
Borecki finished with more than a 2.50 kills per game average in three consecutive seasons, including being in the EIVA top 10 averaging 2.78 kills per game in 2014. Despite missing the second-half of his senior season, Borecki had a 3.49 kills per game average along with both double-digit kills and more than a .300 attack percentage in six matches. Borecki also contributed more than 100 digs in back-to-back seasons to open his college career.
Alvaro Gimeno (2018 – present)
Awards and honors: 2019 First-Team All-EIVA, 2018 EIVA Newcomer of the Year, 2018 First-Team All-EIVA
Gimeno during his sophomore season was fourth in the EIVA with a 3.31 kills per game average, including having 19 kills on a .389 attack percentage against Penn State. The Spanish Men’s National Team member also led the conference and was in the nation’s top 15 averaging 0.44 aces per game. This was the second consecutive year that Gimeno was in the conference’s top two for aces. In addition, Gimeno during his freshman season was in the EIVA’s top 10 with both a 3.29 kills per game average and a .256 attack percentage.
Jabarry Goodridge (2014-17)
Awards and honors: 2017 Uvaldo Acosta Memorial EIVA Player of the Year, 2017 Second-Team All-American, 2017 Karch Kiraly Award finalist, 2017 First-Team All-EIVA, 2016 Uvaldo Acosta Memorial EIVA Co-Player of the Year, 2016 First-Team All-EIVA, 2015 Second-Team All-EIVA
Goodridge not only became one of the first players in NJIT history to win the EIVA Player of the Year but won the award in back-to-back seasons. The outside attacker finished with 1,450 career kills and in his senior season was second in the nation averaging 4.43 kills per game, including having seven matches with at least 20 kills. Goodridge that season also led the EIVA with a 0.50 aces per game average and had a career-high .329 attack percentage. As a junior, Gooridge was third in the nation with a 4.38 kills per game average and was fourth in the conference with a .303 attack percentage.
Luke Robbe (2014-17)
Awards and honors: 2017 Second-Team All-EIVA
Robbe had three consecutive seasons with more than a .350 attack percentage, including hitting a career-best .389 during his senior season. The middle attacker had more than 100 kills in each of his two final seasons and had seven matches with double-digit kills during those seasons. Among his top performances featured a career-high 12 kills on a .579 attack percentage in a victory against Princeton in 2016. Robbe also finished with more than 200 career blocks and in his junior season was in the conference’s top 10 averaging 0.83 blocks per game.
Zak Robben (2012-15)
Awards and honors: N/A
Robben in his senior season was in the nation’s top 10 and set a school single-season record during the 25-point rally scoring era with a 10.16 assists per game average. The setter also guided the Highlanders offense to more than a .250 attack percentage in both of his seasons in the starting lineup. Robben defensively had more than 200 digs in those two seasons, including ending the 2015 season in the EIVA’s top 30 with a 1.25 digs per game average.
Brady Smith (2010-13)
Awards and honors: 2013 Second-Team All-EIVA, 2012 Second-Team All-EIVA
Smith for three consecutive seasons was in the nation’s top 10 for digs, which was highlighted by a nation-best 2.77 digs per game average in 2012. The libero that season had 18 matches with double-digit digs and closed out his season having double-digit digs in eight consecutive matches. In addition, Smith the following year was second in the EIVA averaging 2.55 digs per game and concluded his college career with 933 career digs.