Men's Volleyball Pushes Purchase to Five in Skyline Tri-Match at CMSV

RIVERDALE, N.Y. — Senior Thomas Kennedy (Breezy Point, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) led the Bear attack with 27 kills on the afternoon, including a career-high 21 in a five-set marathon, but the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's volleyball team suffered a pair of Skyline Conference defeats on Saturday afternoon, falling in straight sets to The College of Mount Saint Vincent before letting a 2-0 set lead slip away against Purchase College.

The Basics

• Final Score (Match 1): Mount Saint Vincent 3, St. Joseph's 0
• Set Scores: 25-16, 25-22, 25-17
• Final Score (Match 2): Purchase 3, St. Joseph's 2
• Set Scores: 22-25, 25-27, 25-18, 25-20, 15-9
• Records: Mount Saint Vincent (11-12, 8-4 Skyline), Purchase (11-13, 5-7 Skyline), St. Joseph's (4-13, 1-11 Skyline)
• Date: March 19, 2016
• Location: Riverdale, N.Y.
• Arena: Peter Jay Sharp Center

How it Happened vs. Mount Saint Vincent

• Mount Saint Vincent raced out to an early 5-0 lead in the first set and never trailed as they slammed 15 kills en route to a 25-16 victory.
• Midway through the second set, the Bears recorded four unanswered points, including a pair of kills from Clyde Delacruz, to claim a 14-9 advantage. Later in the set, four straight from the Dolphins saw them reclaim a 20-18 lead. St. Joseph's took advantage of consecutive miscues to draw even at 22-all, but the Dolphins recorded the final three points of the set to clinch a 2-0 match lead.
• In the third, Mount Saint Vincent unleashed a 6-0 rally to move up 15-6 and take control. Fifteen kills in the set paved the way for a 25-17 victory and 3-0 sweep.

How it Happened vs. Purchase

• St. Joseph's trailed 9-7 early in the first set, but claimed momentum with a 5-0 rally highlighted by three kills from Thomas Kennedy. Kennedy's ace later made it set point at 24-18. The defiant Panthers answered with four straight points and threatened to steal the set, but Clyde Delacruz finally delivered the set for the Bears as they jumped out to a 1-0 lead, their first over the Panthers in eight meetings.
• The sides combined for 31 kills in a back-and-forth second set. Purchase maintained a slight lead for most of the set before St. Joseph's late push. Chris Williams' kill handed the Panthers set point at 24-23, but the Bears claimed the next two points to fight it off. A service error knotted the game 25-all, and St. Joseph's recorded the final two points, beginning with Kennedy's timely kill, to clinch a dramatic finish and 2-0 match lead.
• Trailing 6-5 early in the third, the Panthers set the pace with five unanswered. They led the remainder of the set, slamming nine kills in avoiding a sweep and coasting to a 25-18 win.
• The comeback minded Panthers jumped out to an 8-4 lead in the fourth, but St. Joseph's recorded nine of the next 11 points to move ahead 13-10. Purchase controlled the latter stages, however, reclaiming the lead at 16-15 and recording the final three points of the set, including Austin Lynch's set clinching ace, to draw even at 2-2.
• In the deciding fifth set, the Panthers powered three consecutive kills through the Bear defense to highlight a 4-0 push and move up 8-4 at the side change. St. Joseph's claimed three of the next four points to move within 9-7, but Purchase recorded four of the final five points, including Riley Damerell's match clinching kill, to seal a 15-9 fifth-set match clinching victory.

For the Bears

• Thomas Kennedy powered 27 kills on the afternoon, including a career-high 21 in five sets against Purchase. The senior also recorded 17 digs on the day.
• Clyde Delacruz tied a career-best with 15 kills against Purchase after contributing five against Mount Saint Vincent. He hit a team-high .379 in the match against Purchase and stuffed six blocks on the aftermoon.
• Alec Smalley added seven kills in each match, coming just shy of his career-high of nine. The sophomore anchored the defense with 21 digs, including a career-best 13 in the five-set loss.
• Norrin Martinez set up the attack with 63 assists, 23 in game one and 40 in the capper. He logged his second double-double of the season against Purchase, bringing up 12 digs.
• Thomas Ambrosino brought up a career- and team-high 15 digs against Purchase.

For the Dolphins vs. SJC

• Tyler Cucullu powered the sweep with a match-high 13 kills, also adding six digs and a pair of service aces.
• Jordan Steiger added nine kills and contributed six digs on defense, while Neven Skoblar also slammed nine kills.
• Logan Dickover orchestrated the offense with 39 assists.

For the Panthers vs. SJC

• Riley Damerell put forth a 17-kill, 17-dig double-double.
• Christopher Williams also recorded a double-double, contributing 16 kills and 11 digs.
• Matthew McCarthy, Griffin Rapp and Austin Lynch anchored the defense with 13 digs apiece. McCarthy also added eight kills on offense.
• Andrew Schwab notched a match-high 41 assists.

Inside the Box Score vs. Mount Saint Vincent

• CMSV was the more efficient offense hitting .367 (44-11-90). The Bears committed 17 errors in 71 attempts for a .125 hitting rate.

Inside the Box Score vs. Purchase

• The sides combined for 106 kills, 55 for the Bears and 51 for the Panthers.
• Purchase operated at a .174 hitting rate, slightly better than St. Joseph's .129 rate.
• The Panthers dug out 46 shots, one more than the Bears' 45.

The Bear Facts

• St. Joseph's two-game winning streak is snapped as they fall to 4-13 and 1-11 in Skyline play.
• The Bears are now 1-1 in five-set matches this season after opening the campaign with a 3-2 triumph over Medgar Evers.
• St. Joseph's remains winless in the all-time series against both opponents, falling to 0-8 against Purchase and 0-5 against Mount Saint Vincent. It is the first time the Bears have taken a lead over Purchase and the first time going to five sets in the all-time series.

Next Up for St. Joseph's

The Bears continue Skyline Conference play travelling to Bronxville, N.Y. for a clash with Sarah Lawrence on Tuesday, March 22. Start time is slated for 7 p.m. with live stats and video at SJCears.com.