Purchase Stymies Men’s Volleyball on Senior Night

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's volleyball team (5-17, 4-4 Skyline) hosted Purchase College (9-15, 4-3 Skyline) on Tuesday for Senior Night, entering the matchup with a half-game lead over the Panthers for second place in the league standings.

Seniors Tim Driscoll (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's), Sean Salomons (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's, Israel Bautista (Forest Hills, N.Y./Forest Hills), and Timothy Boyd (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) were honored in the Senior Night ceremony but the Bears fell in straight sets (15-25, 21-25, 22-25).

How It Happened
Purchase used four unanswered points, featuring back-to-back kills from Jeremiah Huntt and Thomas Slomka, to build an 11-4 lead in the first. A 6-1 Purchase run that saw three Bear errors later extended the visitors' lead to 18-8. They held on comfortably, winning the first 25-15 as Slomka slammed another kill to close it out.

The Bears grabbed a one-point edge early in the second, but six-straight scores from PC gave them back the advantage at 11-6. SJC got back within one (19-18) after a kill from Driscoll but Purchase outscored the Bears 6-3 over the final nine points to win 25-21 and go up 2-0 in sets as they looked to avenge a five-set loss to St. Joseph's earlier in the season.

SJC led for much of the third with two-straight kills from Driscoll putting them ahead 14-9. The lead held at five after a Driscoll ace (16-11), but Purchase put up five unanswered to tie things up at 16.

The two sides exchanged runs until the score gridlocked again at 21-all following a PC service error. Back-to-back kills from Luke Kubish and Andreo Otiniano put the match away, however, as the Panthers took a 25-22 victory sweeping the Skyline showdown and snatching second place from SJC.

For the Bears

• Salomons had a team-high six kills with three digs, an ace, and a block.
• Stephen Eddy (Glendale, N.Y./Christ the King) (13 digs) and Driscoll (12 digs) each had four kills and double-digit digs.
• Boyd dished out 17 assists and Rogers Hatanga Kwiringira (Corona N.Y./Greater New York Academy) brought up 12 digs as the libero.

Next Up for the Bears
Their 2019 season finale hosting a Skyline tri-match at The Hill Center against Sarah Lawrence College and SJC Long Island beginning at 11 a.m. Live stats and video will be streaming at SJCBears.com.