Fantastic Freshmen Lead Men's Volleyball Past Webb
| In Progress - 4th | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Joseph's (Bklyn) (5-9, 3-3 HVMAC) | 25 | 22 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
|
Webb (0-5, 0-1 HVMAC) | 17 | 25 | 18 | 13 | 1 |
GLEN COVE, NY - Freshmen Michael Miner (Schenevus, NY/Schenevus) and Raul Urshela (Orlando, FL/Colonial) turned in record-breaking performances on Friday night on the North Shore of Long Island, leading the St. Joseph's College men's volleyball team to a 3-1 win (25-17, 22-25, 25-18, 25-13) over host Webb Institute.
Miner, the libero turned outside hitter, tallied nine kills on a .563 hitting percentage, as well as eight digs and several long service runs. The .563 hitting percentage is the highest in St. Joseph's history (minimum 5 kills) and the nine kills without an error is also a Bear men's volleyball record. Urshela, the hard hitting middle, recorded the first 20-kill performance in the young program's history, and did so while hitting a blistering .444. There was one stretch between the end of the first set and the middle of the third set where Urshela tallied 11 straight kills on 11 swings. Among the kills: bump kills, pushes, overpass kills, and hammers set up by Iqbal Husain (West Palm Beach, FL/West Palm Beach) who finished with 31 assists.
The lone hiccup for St. Jospeh's came in the second set, when they allowed Webb to win the first five rallies and Webb held on for the tight, 25-22 set win. Having lost the momentum, the Bears regained it immediately, when the Bears most lethal server, Muhammad Ali Bhatti (Brooklyn, NY/James Madison) reeled off 6 straight service points in set three. From that point forward, St. Joseph's was never seriously challenged en route to their 5th triumph of the season.
Junior Martin Torres (Ozone Park, NY/St. Francis Prep) added 12 kills, 9 digs and 3 blocks, while senior Maciej Sadowski (Brooklyn, NY/Cathedral Prep) chipped in with 8 kills and 7 digs.
St. Joseph's has a busy week at home forthcoming, as they host the College of Mount Saint Vincent on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. and Yeshiva and Webb scheduled to visit Brooklyn Technical High School on Wednesday and Friday. The HVMAC playoffs begin the following week, and the Bears currently sit in 3rd place in conference.