Four Record Double-Doubles But Men's Volleyball Falls To Yeshiva in HVIAC Tilt

NEW YORK—Despite four Bears recording double-double efforts, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's volleyball team suffered a four-set loss at Yeshiva, 25-18, 12-25, 25-17, 26-24, in Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action at the Max Stern Athletic Center on Tuesday night.

The loss eliminates the Bears (8-9, 2-3 HVIAC) from contention for the HVIAC regular season title and drops the Bears below .500 for just the second time all season. The two-time defending champion Maccabees (7-17, 4-2 HVIAC) wrap up their regular season with a share of first place with the regular season title likely decided by tiebreaker rules with two league games remaining.

Like the earlier meeting at The Hill Center two weeks ago that went to five sets, four tallied double-doubles led by senior Raul Urshela's (Orlando, Fla./Colonial) 17 kills, 10 digs and two blocks. Junior Norrin Martinez (Maspeth, N.Y./Holy Cross) dished out 33 assists for his game with 30-or-more assists and dug up a career- and team-high 18 digs for his sixth double-double of the season.

Juniors Thomas Kennedy (Breezy Point, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) and Taso Kostikas (Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood) both slammed 11 kills each, Kennedy bringing up 17 digs for his fourth double-double and Kostikas with 15 digs for his team-high-tying sixth double-double.

Eliakim Gartenberg and Joseph Lipton each pounded 11 kills to lead a balanced Yeshiva attack that combined for 45 kills. Benjamin Mann contributed 10 kills rounding three Maccabees in double-figure kills and Jorge Dabah handed out 37 assists.

Unlike the earlier matchup that featured 37 ties and 19 lead changes, the squad that took control from the outset would not relinquish the lead with the hosts winning sets one and three and the Bears dominating in set two running away with a 25-12 set win.

The fourth set was neck-and-neck with 11 ties and neither team able to build more than a three-point advantage. With the Bears pulling away to a 20-18 lead looking to force another five-set match, the Maccabees used a 6-1 run to earn three match points. St. Joseph's fought off all three match points but couldn't complete the comeback with a Mann kill and a Bears miscue ending the match.

St. Joseph's will play their final non-conference game on Thursday, April 2 at former HVIAC foe and future Skyline Conference rival Sarah Lawrence College looking to stop a four-game skid and return to the .500 mark. First serve is at 7 p.m. with live stats and video on SJCBears.com.