Men’s Volleyball Sweeps Sarah Lawrence to Clinch First Skyline Championship Berth

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's volleyball team wrapped up final weekend of the regular season avenging a loss to Sarah Lawrence College (4-17, 3-7) with a straight-set victory (25-12, 25-20, 25-14) in the opening game of their home tri-match on Saturday at The Hill Center. The Bears fell to sibling rivals St. Joseph's College (Long Island) 3-0 (25-10, 25-15, 25-17) in the finale.

Concluding the regular season at 6-18 overall and 5-5 in league play, the Bears await the outcome of the final three regular season matches on Sunday for their final standing and to find out their opponent for Thursday's Skyline semifinal matchup.

Game 1: SJC Brooklyn 3, Sarah Lawrence 0 (25-12, 25-20, 25-14)

Unlike the road meeting a week ago that the SJC fell behind 2-0 in sets before falling in four, the Bears jumped ahead early and never looked back. St. Joseph's raced out to a 5-1 lead to open the match with two early kills and an ace from Tim Driscoll (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) prompting a Gryphon timeout. SJC pushed the lead to 9-2 and the visitors could never pull back closer than five in a set they never led.

In a closer second stanza, SJC used a 5-0 run powered by three straight kills by Stephen Eddy (Glendale, N.Y./Christ the King) to pull ahead 17-10. The Gryphons clawed back within two, 21-19, before a Sean Salomons (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) followed by a Driscoll ace and a Gryphon error brought about five set points and Salomons put away the set on their second opportunity.

Juan Herran Ocampo (Armenia, Colombia/Manhattan Comprehensive Night and Day) served up back-to-back aces in the middle of scored six unanswered in an 8-1 run in the third to build a 16-6 lead and the Bears kept their separation until the final point to close out the sweep.

Game 2: SJC Long Island 3, SJC Brooklyn 0 (25-10, 25-15, 25-17)

The Bears were unable to hand the defending league champions their first conference loss as the Golden Eagles potent attack put away 48 kills to the Bears eight and never trailed in the three-set win.

Driscoll led the Brooklyn attack with four kills and Eddy chipped in a pair of kills. Juan Sandoval (Ridgewood, N.Y./Christ the King) also put away a kill on his lone attack in a short appearance in the third.

For the Bears

• Tim Driscoll led all attackers vs. Sarah Lawrence falling one dig shy of a double-double finishing with 13 kills, four aces, nine digs and two blocks (both solo).
• Stephen Eddy totaled 10 kills on the day, compiling eight kills, three digs, two solo blocks and an ace vs. the Gryphons.
• Timothy Boyd (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) registered a 26-assist, 12-dig double-double vs. Sarah Lawrence.
• Sean Salomons put away eight kills on the day, slamming seven with three blocks (two solo) in the opener.

Next Up for the Bears

The Bears await their opponent for their first-ever Skyline Conference Championship appearance with a semifinal game on Thursday, April 11.