Men's Volleyball Meets Kean and Sage For First Time in Skyline Play

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Senior Clyde Delacruz (Brooklyn, N.Y./Frederick Douglas Acad. II) led the Bears with 10 kills on the day, but the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's volleyball team suffered a pair of sweeps to Skyline foes Kean and Sage on Saturday afternoon.

The Basics

• Final Score (Match 1): Kean 3, St. Joseph's 0
• Set Scores: 25-10, 25-10, 25-13
• Final Score (Match 2): Sage 3, St. Joseph's 0
• Set Scores: 25-16, 25-20, 25-12
• Records: Kean (10-5, 4-0 Skyline), Sage (5-12, 2-1 Skyline), St. Joseph's (1-6, 0-4 Skyline)
• Date: February 20, 2016
• Location: Brooklyn, N.Y.
• Arena: The Hill Center

How it Happened vs. Kean

• Kean ran off seven straight early in the first set to move up 8-1 and then six answered to move up 19-7 as they cruised to a 25-10 opening set victory.
• The second set played out similarly as St. Joseph's fell behind 7-2 early and suffered another 25-10 loss.
• The Bears were more competitive early in the third as Alec Smalley's kill had them within 5-4. But the Cougars took advantage of seven errors to coast to a three-set sweep.

How it Happened vs. Sage

• Trailing 16-9 in the opening set, St. Joseph's fought back with three unanswered points capped by Clyde Delacruz's ace. But the Gators pulled away late for a 25-16 win.
• St. Joseph's claimed an early 2-1 advantage early in the second for their first lead of the match. Knotted at 4-all, Sage claimed four straight, highlighted by a pair of kills from Casey Fitzpatrick, for their first separation of the set.
• Trailing 22-17 late in the second, a kill from Thomas Kennedy and consecutive Sage errors made it 22-20 as St. Joseph's sought to avoid a 2-0 hole.
• Kickstarted by Bailey Cecchi's kill, the Gators buckled down and secured the final three points to clinch a 2-0 lead.
• The Bears led 5-4 early in the third set and Alec Smalley powered a kill to make it 7-7 as the sides jostled for momentum.
• St. Joseph's trailed 10-9 as they fought to avoid anther sweep, but three Bear errors saw the Gators quickly move up 14-9. They cruised to remainder of the set to claim the sweep.

For the Bears

• Clyde Delacruz powered 10 kills, three against Kean and seven against Sage, to lead the Bears on offense.
• Thomas Kennedy recorded four kills in each game, leading the Bears in that department against Kean. He added a match-high 13 digs against Sage to anchor St. Joseph's defense.
• Norrin Martinez orchestrated a team-high 18 assists on the day, 10 in the opener and 18 in game two.
• Alec Smalley totaled seven kills on the day.

For the Cougars vs. SJC

• Nicholas Buseski pounded the Bears with a match-high 14 kills while contributing eight digs on defense.
• Steve Schrank set up the victory with a match-best 23 assists.
• Tommy Rosario added eight kills while Zach Lynne led all players with 11 digs on the defensive end.

For the Gators vs. SJC

• Seven players recorded at least three kills, with Bailey Cecchi and Casey Fitzpatrick each leading the way with eight. Cecchi also recorded five digs and a pair of service aces to lead the Gator charge.
• Anthony Gerace set up his teammates with a match-high 27 assists.

Inside the Box Score vs. Kean

• Kean was methodical on offense, committing just six errors and slamming 38 kills in 64 attack attempts for a .500 hitting percentage. St. Joseph's struggled to a -.085 hitting rate (10-15-59).
• The Bears held an early 2-1 lead in the third set, but trailed otherwise.

Inside the Box Score vs. Sage

• Sage was the more efficient offense hitting .324 (34-11-71). The Bears were done in by careless play, slamming 21 kills while committing 21 errors in 82 attempts for a .000 hitting rate.

The Bear Facts

• St. Joseph's is in the midst of a six-game skid after opening their season with a victory. Four of the losses have been three-set sweeps. The Bears also fall to 0-4 in the Skyline Conference.
• This was the Bears' first all-time meeting against both Kean and Sage.

Next Up for St. Joseph's

The Bears will have one week off before traveling to Mahwah, N.J. for a pair of Skyline Conference matches, meeting Sarah Lawrence at 2 p.m. and Ramapo at 4 p.m. on Saturday, February 27.