Men’s Volleyball Falls in Five to Yeshiva Trying to Salvage Split of Doubleheader

NEW YORK — After falling in straight sets in game one of their Skyline Conference doubleheader, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's volleyball team suffered a hard-fought 3-2 loss to Yeshiva University on Monday evening.

The Helfant brothers led the attack as Matthew and Alex combined for 50 kills on the evening.

Yeshiva 3, St. Joseph's 0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-22)

The opening match saw 21 ties and nine lead changes. SJC managed a three-point lead in the second stanza at 10-7 later broke a 13-13 deadlock with five straight to take control of the set.

The Bears raced out to a 5-0 lead to start the third set off kills from Matthew Helfant (Quito, Ecuador/Alliance Academy International), Alex Helfant (Quito, Ecuador/Alliance Academy International), and Rogers Hatanga Kwiringira (Corona, N.Y./Greater New York Academy), but it wasn't enough to force an extra frame. SJC clung to a 21-20 lead late before Yeshiva won five of the final six points.

M. Helfant led the way with 10 kills and an ace. A. Helfant had seven kills and a team-high 11 digs. Hatanga chipped in five kills and three aces. Alejandro Oliveros (Brooklyn, N.Y./Grover Cleveland) handed out 18 assists.

Yeshiva 3, St. Joseph's 2 (25-17, 18-25, 25-16, 20-25, 15-8)

The teams traded sets with Yeshiva taking the first and third and St. Joseph's taking the second and fourth. The first three frames saw the team taking the lead from the outset carrying it all the way through as there were just three ties and one lead change combined.

Both teams battled for the fourth set that featured seven ties and four lead changes. The Bears trailed at 15-12 before rattling off five straight and never trailed again. A. Helfant keyed the crucial run with back-to-back aces and M. Helfant closed out the set with the sixth kill of the frame.

Neither team led by more than two early in the fifth-and-deciding set. The hosts used a 3-0 run to build a 10-6 lead and outscored the Bears over the second half of the set 8-2 to thwart the Bears comeback bid.

M. Helfant led the Bears matching his career-high of 21 kills. He also brought up 13 digs for a double-double and stuffed four blocks (three solo). A. Helfant added a 12-kill, 11-dig double-double. They both served up two aces each.

Hatanga fell one kill shy of a double-double with a career-high nine kills and 10 digs. Oliveros dished out 37 assists to direct the offense.

Next Up

The Bears return home to host sibling rivals SJC Long Island on Tuesday, March 22 starting at 7 p.m. Live stats and video will be available on SJCBears.com/live.