Men's Volleyball Outlasts Medgar Evers in Five-Set Hill Center Thriller in Season Opener

BROOKLYN, N.Y.—In the first volleyball game played at The Hill Center, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's volleyball team, held on for a 3-2 (25-16, 15-25, 25-20, 21-25, 15-11) triumph over Medgar Evers College in both teams season openers on Friday night.

The Bears (1-0) level the all-time series against their Brooklyn rivals at 7-7, winning the last seven contests.

Senior Raul Urshela (Orlando, Fla./Colonial) paced the Bears with 14 kills against only four errors and landed four aces. Junior Taso Kostikas (Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood) finished with a double-double with 11 kills and a team-high 13 digs. Assuming the role of setter, junior Norrin Martinez (Astoria, N.Y./St. John's Prep) handed out a match-high 30 assists and served up a team-high six aces.

The Cougars (0-1), who hit .237 for the match, were led by Jamal Chance who amassed a match-best 24.5 points on 13 kills, eight aces and four blocks, including bringing up a match-high 14 kills.

St. Joseph's took the opening set with relative ease, but the visitors would storm right back in the second to level the match. The Bears grabbed the lead again with a 25-20 third-set triumph before the Cougars forced a deciding fifth set.

In the final stanza, both teams remained deadlocked at 11-11, but the Bears captured the final four points of the match to seal the season-opening victory in front of the home crowd.

The Bears continue a stretch of six of seven games at their new home court, welcoming York (N.Y.) to The Hill Center on Tuesday, February 3 at 6:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available on SJCBears.com.