Men's Volleyball Posts Second League Win in Straight Sets Over Sarah Lawrence

BRONXVILLE, N.Y. — Led by a career-high 13 kills from sophomore Alec Smalley (Fresh Meadows, N.Y./St. Francis Prep), the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's volleyball team powered 39 kills, one shy of the three-set program record, in a dominant 3-0 sweep over Skyline Conference foe Sarah Lawrence College on Tuesday night..

The Basics

• Final Score: St. Joseph's 3, Sarah Lawrence 0
• Set Scores: 25-16, 25-13, 25-17
• Records: St. Joseph's (5-13, 2-11 Skyline), Sarah Lawrence (0-16, 0-12)
• Date: March 22, 2016
• Location: Bronxville, N.Y.
• Arena: Campbell Sports Center

How it Happened

• The Bears roared out to a 7-0 first-set lead powered by a string of three consecutive kills from Thomas Kennedy. St. Joseph's never trailed in the set, slamming 16 kills in cruising to a 25-16 win.
• Sarah Lawrence converted six Bear miscues into an 8-5 advantage early in the second set. But St. Joseph's rallied for nine unanswered, including three kills from Alec Smalley, to move up 14-8. They rode the momentum to a 25-13 set victory and 2-0 match lead.
• A competitive third set saw three lead changes and seven ties. St. Joseph's led 17-15 late in the set as the Gryphons fought to avoid a sweep. The Bears elevated their play in crunch time, notching eight of the final 10 points highlighted by Norrin Martinez's match clinching ace.

For the Bears

• Alec Smalley recorded career highs in kills (13) and attack percentage (.357). The sophomore also brought up 10 digs for his first career double-double.
• Clyde Delacruz rattled off 11 kills and committed no errors for a career-best .846 hitting percentage.
• Thomas Kennedy recorded seven kills and anchored the defense with a match-high 15 digs.
• Norrin Martinez set up a match-high 33 assists while contributing nine digs on defense. The 33 assists matched his own three-set program record he set twice previously, most recently against Pratt.
• Kyle Johnson added five kills and four digs.

For the Gryphons

• Callan Moor and Isaac Gamboa led the offense with three kills apiece. They added seven and six digs respectively on defense.
• Alex Carroll dug out a team-high 11 shots.
• Richard Warke orchestrated seven assists in a losing effort.

Inside the Box Score

• St. Joseph's matched their season-high with a .232 hitting rate. They also slammed 39 kills, falling one short of the program three-set record set twice, most recently against Pratt earlier this year on March 10.
• The Bears surrendered a season-low nine kills in holding the Gryphons to a -.115 hitting percentage.

The Bear Facts

• Norrin Martinez' ace was the 101st of his career. The senior is the program's all-time leader in the category and the first to reach the century ace mark.
• St. Joseph's snaps a two-game losing streak overall and a seven-game conference skid.
• The Bears are now 2-11 in the Skyline Conference with both victories coming against Sarah Lawrence. They improve their all-time record against the Gryphons to 9-2.
• This was the third straight-set win of the season for St. Joseph's, two of them coming against Sarah Lawrence and one against Pratt.

Next Up for St. Joseph's

The Bears will have more than one week of rest before meeting Pratt Institute for the second time this season looking to complete the season sweep. The non-conference battle of Clinton Hill will take place on Wednesday, March 30 with first serve set for 7:30 p.m. at the Pratt ARC. Live stats will be available at SJCears.com.