Men’s Volleyball Celebrates Senior Night Battling Purchase

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's volleyball team honored their three seniors and played a tight second set with Purchase College on Thursday night, but fell in straight sets (25-9. 25-22, 25-15) on Thursday evening at The Hill Center.

In pre-game ceremonies, the Bears volleyball program honored Rogers Hatanga Kwiringira (Corona, N.Y./Greater New York Academy), Eleazar Okyere (Brooklyn, N.Y./Nazareth Regional), and Jonathan Oca (Brooklyn, N.Y./Christ the King).

How it Happened 

Scoring was evenly matched in the beginning of the first set, until the Panthers went on a six-point rally, leading the Bears 9-3. Despite a spirited effort playing in front of the home crowd for the final time this season, the Panthers cruised to a 25-9, opening-set win.

After trailing 9-2 in the second stanza, the Bears attack came alive sparked by kills from Alex Helfant (Quito, Ecuador/Alliance Academy International) and Kwiringira to start SJC five-point run. The navy and gray managed to keep the set close and pulled within one at 23-22 but couldn't fully close the deficit.

With momentum from the second set, the Bears opened the third set taking the first point. Scoring went back and forth with eight ties and five lead changes. Four different Bears combined for eight kills in the set, their highest of the match, but Purchase pulled away closing out the match on a 10-2 run.  

For the Bears

• Matthew Helfant (Quito, Ecuador/Alliance Academy International) led the Bears with six kills and two blocks, while brother, Alex Helfant notched five kills with just as many digs.
• Kwiringira logged five kills, three digs, a service ace, and a block.
• Jonathan Oca (Brooklyn, N.Y./Christ the King) dished out 14 assists with a team-high eight digs.

Next Up

The Bears travel to Patchogue, N.Y. to face sibling rivals St. Joseph's College (Long Island) in the final match of the season on April 2. The Saturday afternoon Skyline matchup is set to start at 12 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at SJCBears.com/live.