Men’s Volleyball Drops Opener to Eastern Nazarene

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — In a close match that featured 26 ties and 13 lead changes, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's volleyball team battled Eastern Nazarene College (1-0), but fell in straight sets (26-24, 25-22, 25-23) on Friday evening at The Hill Center.

The Bears (0-1) were led in defeat by Tim Driscoll (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) who put away nine kills with a match-high 13 digs.

How it Happened

Neither team led by more than three in the opening frame and the Bears used a Sean Salomons (Staten Island, N.Y./St, Peter's) kill and a Lions miscue to gain a set point at 24-23, but the visitors from Massachusetts regained their composure after a timeout and won three straight to take set one, 26-24.

St. Joseph's rallied from a five-point deficit to take a 16-15 lead in set number two but couldn't stay on top and fell 25-22 with the Lions hitting .379 (15-4-29) in the set against the Bears' .238 (9-4-21) led by five kills from Driscoll.

The third stanza featured 11 ties and five lead changes with the Bears taking two-point leads on five different occasions in the set. After the Lions built their largest lead of the set of four, 22-18, the Bears unleashed a 5-0 run sparked by a Salomons kill and a Driscoll ace to take a 23-22 lead. But as in the first, the Lions took the final three points of the set to close out the match.

For the Bears

• Tim Driscoll slammed nine kills, landed two aces and brought up a match-best 13 digs.
• Middles Dejon St. Rose-Cuffy (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Loughlin) and Sean Salomons chipped in five and three kills, respectively, Salomons also stuffing two blocks.
• Timothy Boyd (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) dished out 17 assists in his collegiate debut.

Next up for the Bears

St. Joseph's travels to Baruch College on Tuesday (Feb. 22) top open a four-match road stand. First serve is set for 7 p.m. with live stats and video on SJCBears.com