KENOSHA, Wis. (3/13/15) – The No. 3 Kean University men's volleyball team dismantled No. 15 College of Mount Saint Joseph before completing the sweep with a rousing five-set victory over No. 5 Carthage College on Friday night.

Senior All-American Bez Arslani provided a top-level performance against No. 5 Carthage, with a match-high 26 kills as well as a match-best three aces. The entire affair was tense; after four sets both national powers had 96 cumulative points.

 The Cougar defense did well, with 17.5 team blocks over the five sets. Ed Jedziniak was in on 10 of them to spearhead that category. Kean also racked up 44 digs, with libero John Cunningham in double figures with 10 and Jedziniak (9), Ron Dunn, Jacob Kauffman and Arslani (7 each) all contributing greatly on that front.

In the fourth set, with a chance to win the match, the Cougars fought off three set points, rallied to tie it at 24 but fell 26-24 to send the match to a decisive fifth. Carthage entered the final frame with the momentum, having won both the third and fourth sets.

With the score tied at three in the fifth, Arslani was able to convert a jumbled play into a kill for Kean to spark what turned into the game-winning rally.

He got another kill to get the Cougars to five, then got five service points in a row – including an ace – to put Kean up 10-5. Kauffman (pictured left) also had both a block and a kill in that run for the Cougars. The freshman added another kill for the 12th point.

Carthage closed to within three, but Kean turned to Arslani for the final two points of the match as he capped yet another win over a Top-10 opponent for the Cougars.

Kean has now seven wins over Top-10 teams and eight total victories over ranked teams in 2015.

Dunn had 50 assists in the match as Kean improved its record to 20-1.

Kean had little trouble with No. 15 Mt. St. Joseph in the opening match on Friday. Kean held MSJ to a negative .263 attack percentage in the 25-10 first-set victory. The Cougars had five blocks in that set and sided out on 9-of-10 opportunities in a dominant display over a ranked team.

The next two sets got progressively closer, but both outcomes were comfortable for Kean. The Cougars got contributions from 14 players in the match, led by Kyle Farley who had seven kills while hitting .636.

Kean will head to Milwaukee tomorrow to take on Lakeland College and the Milwaukee School of Engineering beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern Time.