Three Pound Double-Digit Kills as Men's Volleyball Falls in Four at Staten Island

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Senior Thomas Kennedy (Breezy Point, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) led all players with 14 kills and 13 digs for his second double-double of the season, but the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's volleyball team was unable to dig out of a 2-0 hole against Staten Island on Tuesday night, falling in four sets on the road in a non-conference battle.

The Basics

• Final Score: Staten Island 3, St. Joseph's 1
• Set Scores: 25-17, 25-23, 24-26, 25-17
• Records: Staten Island (3-5, 2-3 CUNYAC), St. Joseph's (1-4, 0-2 Skyline)
• Date: February 16, 2016
• Location: Staten Island, N.Y.
• Arena: Sports and Rec Center

How it Happened

• The Bears led 6-3 early in the first set following consecutive service aces from Thomas Kennedy.
• But the Dolphins took advantage of a pair of errors in recording four consecutive points to reclaim the lead. They never trailed again and coasted to a 25-17 opening set triumph.
• Trailing 21-15 in the second, Alec Smalley's kill and ensuing ace powered a 6-1 spurt that brought the Bears even. Knotted at 23-all, St. Joseph's committed consecutive errors to hand the Dolphins a 2-0 set lead.
• Trailing 7-2 in the early going, St. Joseph's stormed back in a dramatic third set that saw five lead changes and eight ties. Facing match-point down 24-23, Clyde Delacruz's kill kept the Bears alive. Following a Staten Island error, Delacruz delivered another timely kill to clinch the set and bring St. Joseph's some life.
• The Bears kept the Dolphins within reach for most of the fourth set. They trailed just 15-14 midway through following three unanswered points capped by Delacruz's ace.
• But Staten Island asserted themselves in the latter stages, cruising to a 25-17 fourth-set clincher.

For the Bears

• Thomas Kennedy tallied match highs in kills (14) digs (13) for his second double-double of the young campaign.
• Alec Smalley slammed 10 kills for a new career-high while adding four digs and three aces.
• Clyde Delacruz contributed 11 kills and committed just one error for a .435 hitting percentage.
• Norrin Martinez notched a match-high 38 assists to set up his teammates' attack.

For the Dolphins

• Justin Edwardsen led Staten Island with a team-best 14 kills and helped solidify the defense with six digs.
• Danil Kukovitskiy powered 12 kills in compiling an efficient .526 hitting percentage.
• Ronald Tisbe anchored the defense with 12 digs, while Brandon Lei's 33 assists set up the offense.

Inside the Box Score

• The Bears landed more kills than the Dolphins, but the hosts were more efficient, hitting .232 (40-17-99) while the Bears were hindered by nearly twice as many errors hitting at a .082 hitting rate (41-32-122).

The Bear Facts

• After opening the season with a victory, St. Joseph's has now lost four consecutive matches to drop to 1-4.
• Staten Island pulls ahead at 2-1 in the all-time series following the Bears' five-set marathon triumph in the Hill Center one season ago.

Next Up for St. Joseph's

• The Bears host a tri-match at The Hill Center on Saturday, February 20, meeting Kean University at 11 a.m. and then Sage Colleges at 3 p.m. for a pair of Skyline Conference meetings. Live stats and video will be available on SJCBears.com.