Bears Volleyball Snaps Three-Game Skid Sweeping Webb

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Led by double digit kill performances from Raul Urshela (Orlando, FL/Colonial) and senior Martin Torres (South Ozone Park, NY/St. Francis Prep), the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's volleyball team defeated Webb Institute in straight sets 3-0 (25-14, 25-18, 25-23) in a Hudson Valley Men's Athletic Conference (HVMAC) match on a snowy Monday evening at Brooklyn Technical High School.

The Bears (3-8) ended a three-game skid and moved into second place in the HVMAC, leveling their record in league play at 2-2. The Webbies (0-3) drop their second-straight conference match.

Urshela slammed a season-high 16 kills along with a solid .294 hitting percentage, fell one dig shy of a double double and stuffed four blocks (two solo). Torres put down 12 kills, his third game in double figures, against only two errors for a .303 attack percentage.

The two Bears hitters were setup early and often tonight by junior Iqbal Husain (West Palm Beach, FL/Palm Beach Gardens) who assisted on 26 of the team's 35 put-aways. Taso Kostikas (Brooklyn, NY/Midwood) helped solidify the back line, which combined for 42 digs, bringing up a team-high-tying nine digs.

Webb was paced by Cody Owen who tallied seven kills and added eight digs, but the Webbies attack struggled throughout the contest plagued by 21 attack errors. Libero Colin Spillane anchored the defense with a match-high 19 digs.

St. Joseph's won the first two sets handily, only trailing once during the opening two frames and outscoring the visitors 50-32.  A monster eight-kill performance from Urshela in the first set allowed the Bears to run out to an early lead and they never looked back.

The third and final set was the most tightly contested of the night. After the Webbies jumped out to a 5-0 lead, the Hussain-to-Urshela combo hooked up again and put an end to the run. Both teams traded points throughout the set, which included eight ties, and the game remained knotted at 22-all before Urshela's last three kills of the night gave the Bears three of the final four points for the match.

The Bears amassed 35 kills, 28 of which came from Urshela and Torres. In addition to the high kill totals, St. Joseph's benefitted from a season-second-best 10 service aces.

St. Joseph's looks to put together a winning streak when they host HVMAC rival Yeshiva at Brooklyn Technical High School this Thursday, March 21 at 8:00 p.m.