Men's Volleyball Sweeps Cooper Union in Season Opener

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Junior Raul Urshela (Orlando, Fla./Colonial) slammed 17 kills and senior Iqbal Husain (West Palm Beach, Fla./Palm Beach Gardens) dished out 30 assists leading the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's volleyball team to a straight-set, 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-21), victory over Cooper Union on Friday evening at Simon Baruch Middle School in both squads season openers.

The Bears (1-0) record their first victory all-time over the Hawks (0-1), former Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference rivals and two-time champions.

As a team, the Bears pounded 35 kills, led by Urshela's 17, and handed out 32 assists, led by Husain's 30, setting new Bears' single-match records for a three-set affair.

Sophomore Taso Kostikas (Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood) and junior Clyde Delacruz (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Frederick Douglas Academy II) added six kills each as all six starters recorded a kill.

Cooper Union was led by Matthew Lee with six kills and seven digs.

The Bears got off to a slow start in their first action of the season, with multiple service and attack errors handing the Hawks a 5-2 lead. But the Bears soon found their rythym running off seven straight points with five kills coming from Urshela. With the opening frame tied later at 18-18, the Bears won seven of the final eight points to take the set, finishing with 17 kills in the frame.

The second stanza saw seven ties and five lead changes, but a 6-0 run midway through the frame gave the Bears 19-14 lead they wouldn't relinquish. St. Joseph's slammed nine kills against just two errors in the set.

The final frame had the Bears race out to a 11-5 advantage and later a 20-10 lead, but a late surge from Cooper Union brought them back into the set, erasing four match points before their comeback bid falling short.

Inside the Box Score

• The Bears hit .239 for the match (35 K-13 E-92 A) while the Hawks committed more errors than kills for a -.071 percentage (14 K-18 E-56 A).

The Bear Facts

• St. Joseph's snaps an 11-game skid to Cooper Union with their first win in the series.
• All four three-set match records set today were set against Webb on March 18, 2013.
• Clyde Delacruz's six kills set a new career-high. He entered the game with one career kill in four matches.
• Javier Bosque's three kills matched his career high.
• The Bears win their season opener for the second time in their six-year history. 

Next up for the Bears

St. Joseph's remains on the road and squares off against York College on Wednesday, February 5th at 8 p.m. The match will follow the women's basketball team against the Cardinals at 5:30 p.m.