Bears Volleyball Comes Up Short Against Yeshiva on Senior Night

BROOKLYN, NY – On a night where the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's volleyball team honored its three seniors, the Bears fell to Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference rivals Yeshiva University in straight sets, 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-14), on Wednesday night at Brooklyn Technical High School.

Senior Maciej Sadowski (Brooklyn, NY/Cathedral Prep) paced the St. Joseph's (5-11, 3-4 HVMAC) attack with four kills and seven digs.  Junior Martin Torres (Ozone Park, NY/St. Francis Prep) had eight digs and three blocks, both match highs, and chipped in two kills and two aces.  Freshman Raul Urshela (Orlando, FL/Colonial) also had seven digs, three blocks and two kills.  Senior Muhammad Ali Bhatti (Brooklyn, NY/James Madison) had six assists and senior Raymond Morales (Brooklyn, NY/LaSalle) had three aces.

Yeshiva (10-15, 7-0 HVMAC) remains perfect in conference play this season and clinched the regular season championship.  The Maccabees were led by Raphael Herskovits and Jack Voystock who tallied nine kills each to share match-high honors.  Herskovits also led the Maccabee defense with seven digs.  Adam Rhodes dished out 22 assists.

The Bears remained close with the Yeshiva throughout the first two sets with the Maccabees pulling away late in each set.  In the second stanza, St. Joseph's jumped out to a 7-4 lead to open the set and pulled within one late, 20-19, forcing a Yeshiva timeout, before the Maccabees captured four of the last five points for the set win. In the final set, Yeshiva expanded a two point lead midway through the set scoring nine points unanswered.

In ceremonies after the match, Sadowski, Bhatti and Morales and their families were presented with commemorative action posters recognizing their four-year careers with the Bears.

St. Joseph's (5-11, 3-4 HVMAC) concludes HVMAC play on Friday, March 23 in their home finale at Brooklyn Technical High School.  The Bears host Webb Institute with first serve slated for 7:30 pm.  St. Joseph's has already guaranteed a spot in next Thursday's HVMAC tournament and a win will lock in the Bears for the #3 seed.