Torres, Urshela Lead Men’s Volleyball Over Webb

BROOKLYN, NY – For the second time in seven days St. Joseph's men's volleyball team defeated Webb Institute by a score of 3-1.  After dropping the opening set 27-25, the Bears bounced back with three straight victories of 25-21, 25-14 and 25-21.

Webb started hot out of the gate, getting out to a 7-2 lead in set number one.  St. Joseph's countered with a 7-3 run of their own to cut the lead to 10-9.  Webb maintained a small lead for most of the game, but a bad set knotted the game at 21-all.  The Bears took their first lead of the game on an ace from Raymond Morales (Brooklyn, NY/Lasalle Academy) on the next point.  The lead was short lived though as Webb regained the lead two points later and took the set in extra points, clinching with kills from Nolan Conway and Sean Doran.

The second set was much like the first with neither team gaining more than a two-point advantage until late in the set.  With the two teams tied at 17-apiece, the Bears went on a 4-0 run to separate themselves from the Engineers.  The Bears didn't let Webb any closer and a kill by Raul Urshela (Orlando, FL/Colonial), his fourth of the set sealed the match for St. Joseph's.

With the momentum in their favor, the Bears roared out to a 10-4 lead and never looked back taking a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-14 win.  The fourth set was mirrored the first, with the Bears holding a slight lead throughout the first half.  Trailing 20-16, Webb went on a 4-0 run to tie the game for the first time since the score was 7-7.  St. Joseph's offense kicked into high gear, earning five of the next six points all on kills.  Urshela was responsible for four of the kills and Morales picked up one of his own.

Urshela finished with 14 kills and Martin Torres (Ozone Park, NY/St. Francis Prep) had a game high 15 for the Bears.  St. Joseph's saw three players with double-digit digs with Morales and Muhammad Ali Bhatti (Brooklyn, NY/James Madison) leading the way with 14.  Michael Miner (Schenevus, NY/Schenevus) chipped in 11 digs and added six kills and Iqbal Husain (West Palm Beach, FL/Palm Beach Gardens) handed out a match-high 30 assists.

Jared Harlan and Schuyler Needham led Webb with 12 and 10 kills respectively.  Needham also dished out seven assists and had seven digs. 

St. Joseph's wraps up its regular season with an away match at NYU-Poly on Tuesday, March 27^th.  First serve is scheduled for 7:00 pm.  The game will serve as a tune-up for the teams first ever appearance in the Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference Tournament on Thursday, March 29^th.