Urshela's Near Triple-Double Leads Bears Volleyball to HVMAC Win Over Sarah Lawrence

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Led by sophomore Raul Urshela's (Orlando, FL/Colonial) near triple-double, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's volleyball team notched their first victory of the season with a straight-set, 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-15) Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference win on Friday evening at Brooklyn Technical High School.

The Bears (1-5, 1-2 HVMAC) avenge a four-set loss to the Gryphons (1-10, 1-2 HVMAC) to level the season series at 1-1 and improve to 3-1 in the all-time series.

Urshela put down a team-high 10 kills and set a new Bears single-game record with eight blocks (2 solo, 4 assisted) and added nine digs nearly recording the first triple-double in Bears' history. Senior Martin Torres (Ozone Park, NY/St. Francis Prep) added a near double-double with a team-high 10 digs and landing nine kills with an efficient .412 hitting percentage. Junior Iqbal Husain (West Palm Beach, FL/Palm Beach Gardens) handed out 18 assists.

The Gryphons were paced by four-time HVMAC Player of the Week Harrison Holmes who tallied a match-high 14 kills. Brent Terry dished out a match-high 19 assist and served up four aces.

Sarah Lawrence raced out to a 15-9 advantage in the opening frame, but the Urshela landed three straight monstrous kills that started a 7-1 run that knotted the game at 16-16. The set continued to a 22-22 tie until the Bears scored three of the final four points with Urshela clinching the 25-23 set for St. Joseph's with his sixth kill of the frame.

The Gryphons held a slim lead through most of the early parts of the second stanza, until St. Joseph's leveled the set at 15-15. After the teams exchanged points and the lead a few times, the Bears scored eight unanswered aided by seven Gryphon miscues and took control of the set.

St. Joseph's seized control of the third stanza with a 9-0 run with powered by four rejections from Urshela in the spurt and jumped out to a 16-6 lead and never looked back. Urshela would finish with five blocks in the frame and Torres added four kils to lead the attack.

The Bears continue a three-game home stand welcoming Medgar Evers College on Monday, March 4th to Brooklyn Technical High School. First serve is slated for 7:30 p.m.