Men's Volleyball Claims Straight Set Triumph over Medgar Evers

BROOKLYN, N.Y. - A total team effort paced the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's volleyball team as they defeated Medgar Evers College in three straight sets, 3-0 (25-8, 25-12, 25-9), Wednesday night at Brooklyn Technical High School.

The Bears (5-11) were led by a balanced attack that combined for 23 kills. Junior Raul Urshela (Orlando, Fla./Colonial), topped the team with seven kills, while both Thomas Kennedy (Breezy Point, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) and Clyde Delacruz (Brooklyn, N.Y./Frederick Douglas Academy II) had five kills apiece.

Iqbal Husain (West Palm Beach, Fla./Palm Beach Gardens) totalled 17 of the team's 19 assists against the Cougars. Taso Kostikas (Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood) added seven digs and seven service aces for St. Joseph's.

As a unit, the Bears set two team records with 23 service aces and a .306 hitting percentage throughout the match.

Jamal Chance contributed five kills for Medgar Evers (0-20), while Adiel Ramos Munoz dished out eight assists for the Cougars in a losing cause.

The Bears nearly led the match wire-to-wire, trailing only one point the entire match. The first set saw the team have a clean set, not allowing a single error throughout and had a .529 hitting percentage in their 25-8 win. In the second stanza, the Bears rode a 14-4 run late in the frame, including six kills and three service aces to go up two sets to none.

The final frame saw St. Joseph's explode out of the gate with an 11-2 lead. St. Joseph's supplied nine service aces in the set, including four from Kennedy as the Bears claimed their fifth win on the season.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Bears hit .306 for the match (23 K-8 E-19 A), while the Cougars hit for a .020 percentage (14 K-13 E-13 A).
• The Bears started out the match clean, not committing a single attack error throughout the first set of the game.

THE BEAR FACTS

• St. Joseph's finished hitting above .300 as a team only one other time with a .301 effort during a 3-1 win over Webb in 2012.
• St. Joseph's has now won the last six meetings against Medgar Evers and takes a 7-6 edge in the all-time series.

NEXT UP FOR THE BEARS

St. Joseph's will play their next game April 3rd, when host Sarah Lawrence in a HVIAC match at Brooklyn Technical High School. First serve is at 7:30 p.m.