Third-Set Comeback Falls Short for Men's Volleyball Against Mount Saint Vincent

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Meeting for the second time in less than a week, the St. Joseph's University, N.Y. (Brooklyn) men's volleyball team and the College of Mount Saint Vincent squared off, this time on The Hill Center floor. After three close sets, the Dolphins (5-9, 2-1) took the straight-set win (19-25, 22-25, 24-26) on Thursday evening.

How it Happened 

The visitors controlled much of the first set, with a quartet of Dolphins registering three kills. Frank Arevalo (Astoria, N.Y./Gramercy Arts) and Alex Helfant (Quito, Ecuador/Alliance Academy International) slammed a pair of kills before CMSV took the set 25-19.

The second stanza saw the Dolphins distancing themselves from the Bears (1-8, 0-3); leading by as many as 16-8. Following an SJBK timeout, the momentum shifted to the navy and gray. An 8-2 run for the Bears brought them from down 18-13 to tied at 20. The rest of the period saw three ties and a pair of lead changes, resulting in a two-point set win for Mount Saint Vincent, 25-23.

The Bears carried the tempo that ended the second set into the third, leading for much of the period. Helfant's six kills in the set led the SJBK attack and were more than in the first two sets combined for the junior. Trailing 20-15, the Dolphins clawed back to tie the set at 22-all before holding match point, 24-22. The Bears saved the two match points forcing a CMSV timeout. On the other side of the brief intermission, the Dolphins clinched the set and the match.

For the Bears

• Helfant's 11 kills and 12 digs were game highs.

• Hitting at a .250 clip, Arevalo slammed six kills and led the team with three blocks.

• Leonel Bravo (Astoria, N.Y./Queens Vocational & Technical) brought up 11 digs.

• Alejandro Oliveros (Brooklyn, N.Y./Grover Cleveland) handed out 14 assists and came a dig shy from a double-double.

• Levin Ma (Brooklyn, N.Y./Port Richmond) served up a pair of aces with Helfant and Jahin Sadique (New York, N.Y./High School for Dual Language and Asian Studies notching one each.

Up Next 

The Bears will host a trimatch featuring Yeshiva University and Sarah Lawrence College on Sunday, March 12. The Bears and Maccabees will begin the proceedings at 11 am and will wrap up the trimatch against the Gryphons at 3 pm. YU and SLC will meet in the middle match at 1 pm. Live stats and video of all three games will be available on sjbkathletics.com/live.