Men's Volleyball Falls in Straight Sets in Road Test at Staten Island

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.—Despite a match-high 12 kills from senior Raul Urshela (Orlando, Fla./Colonial), the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's volleyball team was knocked off in straight sets, 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-15), by the College of Staten Island on the road on Monday night.

The Bears (1-2) have now dropped two straight while the Dolphins (2-4) have won two in a row, in their first varsity season.

Urshela slammed his 12 kills against six errors for a .182 hitting percentage. The senior also stuffed a match-best four blocks and brought up six digs. Junior Taso Kostikas (Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood) aided the attack with five kills and led the defense with a match-high 13 digs. Junior Thomas Kennedy (Breezy Point, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) also reached double-figure digs with 11 and chipped in two kills and three service aces.

Staten Island was led by Mark Palencia who had 11 kills and Justin Edwardsen with 10 kills as six Dolphins combined for 38 kills nearly doubling the Bears total.

Despite never leading in the opening set, the Bears hung with the hosts trailing late in the frame by just one, 19-18, on a Urshela block. But the Dolphins would pull away to take the opening set winning six of the final seven points, five coming on Dolphin kills.

The Bears would find themselves in a similar position in set two trailing 18-17 and pulled within two at 23-21 on Urshela block before the Dolphins would win the set with a kill and a block.

The hosts controlled the final stanza using a 9-0 run at 6-6 that built a lead that would be insurmountable.

St. Joseph's returns to the confines of their new home for four straight games at The Hill Center. The Bears will host borough rival Brooklyn College on Wednesday, February 11 at 7 p.m. Live stats and video will be available on SJCBears.com.