Men’s Volleyball Erases Two-Set Deficit to Defeat Yeshiva on Senior Night

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — In a thrilling five-set marathon in their final home game of the season at The Hill Center, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's volleyball team rallied after dropping the opening two sets to stun Yeshiva University, 3-2 (22-25, 15-25, 25-21, 25-21, 15-13), in Skyline Conference action on Thursday night from The Hill Center.

Junior Sean Salomons (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) posted career highs of 12 kills and eight blocks (three solo) to lead the Bears (1-13, 1-4 Skyline) who picked up their first win of the season and snapped a 23-game losing streak dating back to last season. The victory was also the first over Yeshiva (3-13, 2-7) in 21 meetings all-time.

Sophomore Tim Driscoll (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) and senior Alec Willis (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph's by the Sea) both contributed double-double efforts to the victory. Driscoll logged his second double-double of the season with 12 kills, 15 digs, and four aces while Willis flirted with a triple-double with a career-highs of 30 assists, 19 digs and seven kills.

Sophomore Stephen Eddy (Glendale, N.Y./Christ the King) also chipped in nine kills and 15 digs, both career highs, and freshman Dejon St. Rose-Cuffy (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Loughlin) also slammed a career-high eight kills.

Yeshiva was led by Chaim Aryeh Rubin's match-high 13 kills and 11 digs. Isaac Pomerance handed out 29 assists for the Maccabees who hit .028 for the match.

The contest was evenly played throughout featuring 34 ties and 14 lead changes.

The Maccabees took the opening set despite the Bears landing three more kills in the frame (10-7) as the Macs pulled away winning three of the final four points after clinging to a 22-21 lead. The visitors pushed their lead to two sets using a 12-2 run midway through the second to take control of the set for good.

The Bears built a 9-4 lead early in a third set where they never trailed but saw the Macs level the set at 16-all and 21-all, but three Macs miscues and a Salomons kill down the stretch helped SJC win the final four points of the set to start the comeback.

A highly contested fourth set with 11 ties and four lead changes saw neither team ahead by more than three points. With the set knotted again at 21-all once again, back-to-back-to-back kills by Willis, Eddy, and St. Rose-Cuffy followed by a Driscoll ace had the Bears close the set again on a 4-0 spurt to force a deciding fifth set.

The deciding set had Yeshiva pull out to a 10-7 lead, the largest for either team in the frame, but the Bears drew even at 12-all on a Salomons kill. With the eighth tie of the set at 13-all, an Eddy kill brought match point and Salomons closed out the comeback stuffing Rubin for his eighth block of the match, one shy of tying the Bears single-game record.

SJC has over a week off before heading to Sarah Lawrence College for a Skyline tri-match on Saturday, March 31 with first-place SJC Long Island. First serve against the Gryphons is set for 11 a.m.