Men's Volleyball Sets New Program Wins Mark Sweeping Sarah Lawrence

BRONXVILLE, N.Y.—The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's volleyball team set a new program record for wins in a season defeating Sarah Lawrence College in straight sets, 3-0 (25-10, 25-17, 25-21) on Noyes Court on Thursday evening.

The victory returns the Bears (9-9) back to the .500 mark and snaps a four-game skid as St. Joseph's won their fourth straight over their former Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and future Skyline Conference rivals. The nine victories surpasses the previous high of eight wins set last season. 

Senior Raul Urshela (Orlando, Fla./Colonial) led all attackers with 12 kills along with eight digs. Norrin Martinez (Maspeth, N.Y./Holy Cross) dished out 27 of the team's 32 aces and paired it with 10 digs for his team-leading seventh double-double of the season.

Junior Thomas Kennedy (Breezy Point, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) added nine kills, seven digs and three service aces while Taso Kostikas (Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood) put away eight kills with a match-high 17 digs.

The Gryphons (0-20) were paced by Alex Carroll's six kills and Amit Sankaran contributed five kills and nine digs.

St. Joseph's remained in control from the outset. In the opening frame, the Bears combined to slam 13 kills, five coming from Urshela, and hit .375 to run away with the first set and never turned back. In the third set, the hosts hung around and remained within one at the 19-18 mark before the Bears went on a 6-1 run to earn five match points, sealing the victory on their third match point with a Kennedy kill.

The Bears will celebrate Senior Night and close out the regular season at The Hill Center in a HVIAC showdown against Webb Institute on Tuesday, April 7. In addition, a victory would ensure the Bears of their first .500-or-better season. First serve is set for 7 p.m. with live stats and video on SJCBears.com.