Men’s Volleyball to Open 20-Game 2018 Slate at Home on Thursday

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's volleyball team is set to begin its 2018 campaign this Thursday (Jan. 25) at The Hill Center hosting Medgar Evers at 7 p.m. Head coach Mark Ledwich will be at the helm of the Bears' in his second season, as his squad finished ninth in the Skyline Conference a year ago. The league looks a bit different in 2018 with the departure of its NJAC affiliate members and each Skyline team playing a home-and-home series against one another.

After Thursday's opener St. Joseph's begins a three-game road trip at CCNY on Tuesday (Jan. 30) followed by away matches at New Jersey City (Feb. 9) and Lehman (Feb. 14) to start February. Then, to finish out the month, the Bears play host to Brooklyn (Feb. 16) and CCNY (Feb. 24). Rounding out the non-conference slate is a tri-match at Staten Island with Penn State-Behrend (Mar. 3) and a Hill Center battle with York (Mar. 8) in the first week of March. Interestingly enough, six of the Bears' seven non-league games come against CUNYAC opponents.

Skyline play then opens with a tri-match at The Hill Center hosting Purchase and Mount Saint Vincent on March 10, and the Bears play back-to-back home games against sister-school SJC Long Island (Mar. 20) and Yeshiva (Mar. 22) to close out the eight-game home slate. League play encompasses the remainder of the schedule, with the Bears playing their final five games on the road, wrapping up 2018 at Mount Saint Vincent for a tri-match alongside Sarah Lawrence (Apr. 7).

In the recently released Skyline Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Bears were ranked in a fifth-place tie with Sarah Lawrence. The top four teams will qualify for the Skyline Conference Championships, with semifinal action beginning on April 12 at the top two seeds with the winners vying for the title on April 14.

2018 Skyline Conference Men's Volleyball
Preseason Coaches Poll

Team (2017 Record / 2017 Skyline Record), Points (first-place votes)

1. Mount Saint Vincent (18-12, 7-2), 21 (3)
2. St. Joseph's-Long Island (19-11, 6-3), 20 (3)
3. Purchase (14-9, 4-5), 18
4. Yeshiva (5-15, 2-7), 11
5t. Sarah Lawrence (1-21, 1-8) and St. Joseph's-Brooklyn (2-25, 0-9), 10 each