Streak Ends at Three as Men's Volleyball Suffers Straight Set Loss to Purchase

BROOKLYN, N.Y.—The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's volleyball team dropped a straight-set non-conference decision to future Skyline Conference rivals Purchase College on Thursday night at The Hill Center.

The Bears (7-4) collected 17 kills led by Raul Urshela's (Orlando, Fla./Colonial) nine kills and seven digs but the offense could keep pace with the Panthers (5-11) who overwhelmed the Bears with 42 kills and a .405 hitting percentage to halt a six-game skid.

Juniors Thomas Kennedy (Breezy Point, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) and Taso Kostikas (Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood) contributed four kills each to the St. Joseph's attack. Kennedy shared team-high honors on defense with seven digs.

Kevin Carges paced the visitors with 16 kills at a .429 clip and Riley Damerell chipped in 12 kills against only one errors for a .550 hitting percentage leading three Panthers landing double-figure kills.

Purchase controlled the match from start to finish winning the opening two sets by equal 25-15 margins. The Bears managed to stay within two for most of the first half of the third set, but the visitors eventually pulled away for a 25-19 win with their match-best 17 kills in the frame.

St. Joseph's will resume Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play and wrap up a three-game home stand at The Hill Center hosting Yeshiva University on Tuesday, March 17 at 8 p.m. Live stats and video will be available on SJCBears.com.