The Medgar Evers men's volleyball team closed out the home portion of the regular season with a defeat, falling to CUNYAC foe CCNY in a CUNYAC match by scores of 15-25, 25-27, and 20-25. With the loss, the Cougars dipped to 4-14 on the 2023 campaign (1-11 CUNYAC), and Medgar Evers was eliminated from conference playoff contention. The Beavers improved to 12-6 on the year (7-6 CUNYAC).
In front of an encouraging crowd at the Cougars Cave, the Medgar Evers Department of Athletics took a few moments to honor seniors Sebastiann Perez, Austin Romeo, and Jubril Okunlola in a special pre-match ceremony. Public address announcer Stephen Spagnoli read some heartfelt sentiments about each senior, and Director of Athletics Chetara Murphy and Head Coach Eric Archer presented Perez, Romeo, and Okunlola with commemorative framed photos in a show of appreciation for their contributions to the program over the years.
Perez put forth a stellar effort on the evening he was honored, registering a team-high 14 kills while hitting .379 (14-3-29). He also tied for the team-high of 10 digs, as well. Freshman Carlos Abreu added nine kills, 10 digs, and a pair of assists, and Romeo notched a team-high 26 assists to go along with five digs in his final home match as a Cougar. Finally, it was Isaac Akindipe finishing with five kills and three digs.
Pacing City College was Jeffrey Celis, as he led all players in kills (17) and digs (15). Ricky Li recorded 10 kills and five digs, and setter David Reyes Galvez finalized his evening with a match-high 30 assists. Tenzin Tsepak notched five kills and a pair of service aces, and finally, it was Ethan Sherpa registering 12 digs.
In perhaps the most unbalanced set of the evening, CCNY held an 8-5 advantage before four consecutive points, thanks to an Akindipe service error, an attack error by Abreu, a service ace by Li, and an attack error by Louis Caiola, put the Beavers ahead 12-5. Medgar Evers chipped away at that deficit, eventually pulling to within three (16-13), but CCNY closed out the opening set with a 9-2 run to win it, 25-15.
Set number two provided plenty of excitement. With the set tied 14-14, the Cougars registered five consecutive points to snatch a commanding 19-14 edge. Those five points were earned courtesy of a kill by Akindipe, an attack error by Cristian Canela, and three consecutive kills by Abreu. CCNY then answered with three straight points (thanks to a kill by Li and two straight ball-handling errors by Romeo) to make it 19-17 in favor of the hosts. Medgar Evers halted the run momentarily when Abreu notched another kill to make it 20-17 Cougars.
The pendulum then swung back and forth, with the teams trading 3-0 runs, before CCNY scored four straight to go up 24-23. A kill by Perez evened the score at 24-all to keep the set alive. The CUNYAC foes than alternated points, and then, with the score tied 25-25, the Beavers earned the final two points of the set via a kill by Celis, and a service ace by Celis, to win it.
In the third and final set of the night, Medgar Evers rallied from down 12-9 to tie the match at 13-all. A 5-1 run by CCNY put the Beavers ahead 18-14, and the Beavers wouldn't lead by any less than three points for the remainder of the set. Up 23-20 late, CCNY closed out the set and the match with kills by Prabodh KC and Celis.
In what was a very competitive match from the start, CCNY hit .194 for the evening (40-19-108), while Medgar Evers earned a hitting percentage of .149 (29-15-94). The Beavers tallied 46 digs compared to 41 for the Cougars, and the visitors earned five service aces, while Medgar had one.
The Cougars will wrap up their 2023 campaign tomorrow evening, as Medgar Evers will travel to the York College Gymnasium for a CUNYAC doubleheader with the Cardinals. The matches are scheduled for 6:00pm and 8:00pm.
