Men’s Volleyball Takes Brooklyn College to Four

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Seven different Bears recorded a kill and the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's volleyball team notched their first set win of the season but fell in four sets (25-20, 19-25, 25-14, 25-12) to their Kings County rivals Brooklyn College on Tuesday evening. 

Junior Ramizjon Khudoyorov (Brooklyn, N.Y./Edward R. Murrow) led the Bears attack for the third straight match, notching five kills and Matthew Helfant (Quito, EcuadorAlliance Academy International) landed a team-high four service aces.

How it Happened 

The Bears (0-3) opened the first set winning three straight points after the Bulldogs (2-2) won the opening point. The set was highly contested with seven ties and four lead changes with the hosts pulling away for five point lead at 15-10 before the Bears would pull back within one at 19-18 on a Lordnel Saint-Jean (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) ace. But SJC couldn't pull even and the hosts held on to take the set 25-20.

The navy and gray broke through for their first set win in another tight set that featured 11 ties and eight lead changes. With the set deadlocked at 17-all, the Bears ran off six straight points and the Bears closed out the 25-19 set win outscoring the Bulldogs 8-2 with Khdoyorov landing two key aces in the spurt.

The momentum shifted back to the Bulldogs in the third and the Bears couldn't get back into the frame after falling behind 8-2. The Bears battled back in the fourth and seized the lead early and by as many as three at 8-5, before the Bulldogs won 15 unanswered to pull away for good.

For the Bears

• Khudoyorov led the Bears in kills for the third straight game, logging in five, and contributing three service aces, one solo block and six digs, for a team-high nine points.
• Matthew Helfant followed with eight points, ending the night with four service aces, three kills, and a solo block. 
• Alex Helfant (Quito, Ecuador/Alliance Academy International) directed the offense with nine assists, also adding two kills and four digs.
• Alejandro Oliveros (Brooklyn, N.Y./Grover Cleveland), Jonathan Oca (Brooklyn, N.Y./Christ the King), and Rogers Hatanga Kwiringira (Corona, N.Y./Greater New York Academy) each chipped in a pair of kills.

Next up

The Bears head to the City College of New York for a non-conference tri-match. The Bears face the Beavers in 10 a.m. and take on The King's College (PA) at 2 p.m. Live stats will be available at SJCBears.com/live.