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3-0
0
Medgar Evers ME 3-3,1-2 CUNYAC
3
Winner Saint Elizabeth CSE 5-5,0-0 CSAC
Medgar Evers ME
3-3,1-2 CUNYAC
0
Final
3
Saint Elizabeth CSE
5-5,0-0 CSAC
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Medgar Evers ME 18 27 17 (0)
Saint Elizabeth CSE 25 29 25 (3)

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball |

Despite hearty effort, Cougars drop non-conference match to Golden Eagles in three sets

The Medgar Evers College men's volleyball team dropped a road match for the first time during the 2023 campaign, losing to the Golden Eagles of Saint Elizabeth University by scores of 18-25, 27-29, and 17-25 Saturday afternoon. The match took place at Saint Joseph Hall in Morristown, NJ. The Cougars dipped to .500 with the defeat (3-3), while the Golden Eagles reached .500 with the triumph (5-5). 

For Medgar Evers, star Sebastiann Perez led the way, tying for the match-high of 10 kills while also contributing six digs. Newcomer Carlos Abreu tallied eight kills, a match-high 14 digs, and four assists, and multi-sport athlete Louis Caiola finalized his afternoon with six kills and a pair of digs. Senior Austin Romeo piled 22 assists, leading all players.

Kodi Peters paced the Golden Eagles' offense, as his 10 kills tied for the match-high. He also added four digs, as well. Frank Rossi Jr. and Sam Lugo notched eight kills apiece, with Rossi Jr. also adding 11 assists and eight digs. Jarod Crowe finished his day with five kills and three digs, and Alberto Torres Vidal contributed a team-high 15 assists. Finally, it was Brad Mahoney putting together a fine all-around match, as he posted a team-high 13 digs to go along with seven assists and a pair of kills.

Despite four ties in the early stages of the first set, Saint Elizabeth University never trailed in the opener. The Golden Eagles held four-point leads five times within the first 37 combined points of the set, but ultimately weren't able to pull away until the latter stages of the set. Saint Elizabeth University held a 20-17 edge before notching three consecutive points to push its lead to 23-17. Those aforementioned three points came courtesy of a pair of kills by Lugo, and an attack error by Perez. After the Cougars' got a point to slice the Golden Eagles' lead to 23-18, the hosts finished the set by scoring two straight, thanks to a kill by Peters, and a ball handling-error by Daniel Hacket. 

The Cougars suffered a heartbreaking defeat in a roller coaster second set. Within the set, Medgar Evers led 5-1, then later trailed 17-13, before putting together a 6-1 run to snatch a 19-18 advantage. The Golden Eagles then scored five of the next seven points of the set to grab a 23-21 edge, but Medgar Evers continued to claw back, as attack errors by Joseph Angelo Calayag and Mahoney tied the non-conference clash at 23-all.

Saint Elizabeth University would find itself within one point of winning the second set four times, holding leads of 24-23, 25-24, 26-25, and 27-26, but each time, the Cougars would score a point to stay alive. Then, with the set knotted at 27-apiece, Saint Elizabeth University finally slammed the door on a second set victory, scoring two straight points courtesy of a kill by Peters, and a ball-handling error by Abreu.

In the third and final set, Medgar Evers showed tremendous heart, refusing to quit even when it fell behind 15-10. The Cougars used a 5-0 run to tie the match at 15 apiece. Those five points came via a kill apiece by Isaac Akindipe and Romeo, a ball-handling error by Kennedy Ibezim, and two consecutive attack errors by Crowe. The Golden Eagles would finish strong, though, registering 10 of the set's next 12 points to win it, 25-17, and ultimately win the match, 3-0.

Both teams hit positive, though Saint Elizabeth University was a little more efficient, earning a hitting percentage of .140 for the match (37-21-114), while Medgar Evers hit .054 (28-22-112). The teams were nearly dead even in digs, with the hosts recording 42 compared to the Cougars' 41, and Saint Elizabeth University held a slim 4-1 edge in service aces.

Medgar Evers has now alternated wins and losses over the first six matches of the season, and the Cougars will hope Tuesday that the pendulum swings their way when the Bloodhounds of John Jay College come to Brooklyn for a CUNYAC match. Start-time is scheduled for 7:00pm.
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