Men's Volleyball 3/2/2023 11:42:00 PM

Cougars impose will on Bears, defeat St. Joseph's University (Brooklyn) in four sets

Box Score The Medgar Evers men's volleyball team picked up a non-conference victory on Thursday evening, defeating borough opponent St. Joseph's University (Brooklyn) by scores of 23-25, 25-13, 25-14, and 25-16. The match took place at the Hill Center in Brooklyn, NY. With the victory, the Cougars improved to 3-2 on the season, while the Bears dipped to 1-5.

Medgar Evers, now unblemished on the road at 2-0, was led by the dominant performance from senior Sebastiann Perez, as he led all players with a match-high 22 kills, while tying for the match-high of 21 digs. He hit .190 for the match, while also sprinkling in three assists. Freshman Carlos Abreu piled 14 kills while tying Perez with 21 digs. He also added six assists and a service ace. Senior setter Austin Romeo racked-up a whopping 34 assists to lead all players. Isaac Akindipe added five kills and five digs, and Louis Caiola contributed four kills, 10 digs, and a match-high two solo blocks.

Despite the loss for the hosts, St. Joseph's University (Brooklyn) was paced by Alex Helfant, as he registered a team-high eight kills while adding nine digs and a pair of service aces. Frank Tello contributed six kills and five digs, and Frank Arevalo added five kills, two digs, and a pair of block assists. Setter Alejandro Oliveros piled a team-high 15 assists to go along with 13 digs and two block assists, and Leonel Bravo's 18 digs led all Bears.

The Cougars got out to a slow start in this one. Medgar Evers fell behind 12-9 in the first set before rallying with four consecutive points to snatch a 13-12 edge. The set would then feature eight more ties, with neither squad grabbing more than a two-point advantage (Medgar led 21-19 at one point) until the latter stages. With the set tied at 23 apiece, the Bears would score two straight points to capture it, thanks to two consecutive attack errors by Perez.

The turning point of the match came in the second set, when, with Medgar Evers holding a slim 9-7 lead, Medgar Evers would score five consecutive points to catapult to a commanding seven point edge, 14-7, and never look back. That 5-0 run featured a kill apiece by Akindipe and Perez, two attack errors by Helfant, and a bad set by Oliveros. The closest the Bears would get in the set would be within six points, as Medgar Evers registered 16 of the final 22 points of the set to win it, 25-13.

In the swing set of the match, set number three, Medgar Evers held an 11-8 lead before going on a 4-0 run to increase its edge to seven points, 15-8. That four point spurt included three kills by Perez, and an attack error by Helfant. After that Cougars run, St. Joseph's University would only get as close as down six (15-9), as Medgar Evers ran away with the set, winning it by 11 (25-14).

Medgar Evers fell behind momentarily in the fourth and final set, trailing the host Bears 3-1, before running off seven consecutive points to take an 8-3 advantage. Abreu was absolutely sensational during that 7-0 run for the visitors, as he registered four kills during that spurt. The Cougars maintained their lead, and later were ahead 20-12, before three straight points by St. Joseph's University (Brooklyn) sliced Medgar Evers' lead to three, 20-15. The Cougars responded in a big way, recording five of the next six points to win the set 25-16, and ultimately, win the match, 3-1.

For the match, Medgar Evers hit .158 (46-24-139), while the Bears struggled mightily with their hitting, earning a negative percentage of -.043 (22-28-138). The Cougars notched 81 digs compared to 59 for the hosts, and Medgar Evers held a slim 6-4 edge in service aces.

The Cougars will look to win their second consecutive match, and stay perfect on the road, when they head to Morristown, NJ on Saturday afternoon to face Saint Elizabeth University. Start-time for that non-conference match with the Golden Eagles is scheduled for 12:00pm.

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