Pratt Attack Too Much for Men's Volleyball in Four-Set Loss at Home

BROOKLYN, N.Y.—In a pivotal Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup with a share of first place in sight, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's volleyball team was upended at home by Pratt Institute in four sets (27-25, 19-25, 25-16, 25-23) on Thursday night at The Hill Center.

The loss drops the Bears (8-8, 2-2 HVIAC) to an even .500 overall and in league play, sharing second place with the Cannoneers (4-5, 2-2 HVIAC). The Clinton Hill rivals split the season series at 1-1 but the Cannoneers hold the head-to-head tiebreaker by virtue of the four-set triumph, the Bears needing five sets in their win in February.

Both teams remain just a half game out of first place with top seeded Yeshiva (6-14, 3-2 HVIAC) faltering at Webb (1-2, 1-2 HVIAC) tonight leaving the HVIAC up for grabs as the regular season draws to an end.

Raul Urshela (Orlando, Fla./Colonial) pounded 15 kills and hit .333 with eight digs and two blocks to lead the Bears in defeat. Thomas Kennedy (Breezy Point, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) continued his strong play with 13 kills, eight digs and three aces. Norrin Martinez (Maspeth, N.Y./Holy Cross) dished out 33 assists and brought up 10 digs for his fourth double-double of the season.

The Cannoneers were led by David Cutler's career-high 27 kills and 14 digs while Alex Arsovski slammed 16 kills with 12 digs with both bigs connecting at an efficient rate, hitting .440 and .419, respectively. Brandon Ryan orchestrated the Pratt attack that hit .353 for the match, handing out 48 assists.

The opening set saw the Bears fight off three set points to equalize the set at 24-24, earning a set point of their own, which they couldn't convert allowing Pratt to regroup and win the final three points to take the frame 27-25.

St. Joseph's recovered with a 6-1 run in the second stanza taking a 20-15 lead and holding on for a 25-19 win, in their best hitting frame of the match, connecting at a .333 clip.

But the Willoughby Avenue visitors stormed back to take the third set, 25-16, hitting .542 in the frame led by Cutler's seven kills.

The Cannoneers used a 4-0 run to take a 10-6 lead in the fourth, maintaining that separation for most of the set and earned three match points, 24-21. The Bears managed to fight off two match points but couldn't complete the comeback falling 25-23.

St. Joseph's will take to the road for their next two matches, facing Yeshiva University on Tuesday, March 31 at 8 p.m. looking to remain in the top half of the conference standings.