Men's Volleyball 3/22/2024 8:44:00 AM

Cougars outlasted by Cardinals in five sets in CUNYAC thriller

Box Score The Medgar Evers men's volleyball team dropped a five-set classic last night, falling to CUNYAC foe York College by scores of 14-25, 31-29, 25-21, 18-25, and 14-16. The match took place in Jamaica, Queens. With the defeat, the Cougars slipped a mark of 0-11 on the 2024 campaign (0-10 CUNYAC), while the Cardinals improved to 2-13 (2-9 CUNYAC).

Despite the loss for the Cougars, standout Cody Ramsey put forth another phenomenal effort, tying for the match-high of 25 kills (25-12-58, .224) while also tying for the team-high of 18 digs. The veteran also added three assists and a pair of solo blocks. Isaac Akindipe finished with seven kills and eight digs, and Kadeem Hagley added four kills, two service aces, and two digs. Carlos Abreu's 31 assists were a team-high, and he also piled 12 digs, and Mateo tied Ramsey for the team-high in digs with 18.

The Cardinals were paced by David Heyliger Jr., as his 25 kills tied for match-high. He also contributed 14 digs, four assists, three service aces, and three solo blocks. Alexis Ramirez added 15 kills, seven digs, and a service ace, and Glenver Stuart finished with three kills, three block assists, and two solo blocks. Setter Stanley Sanchez's 41 assists led all players, and Ahmed Algendy's 27 digs were a match-high.

In the opening set, York held an 11-9 advantage before scoring seven of the ensuing eight points to snatch a commanding 18-10 edge. Heyliger Jr. was sensational during that aforementioned run, registering four kills. After a pair of Cardinal attack errors drew the Cougars to within six (18-12), the Cardinals capped the set by scoring seven of the next nine points, capped off by a Ramirez kill. York took set one, 25-14.

Medgar Evers raced out to a 4-1 advantage in the opening set behind a kill apiece from Abreu and Ramsey. York answered with kills by Ramirez, Heyliger Jr., and Vincent Agokei to knot the set at eight apiece. The Cougars would then put together a 10-5 run to grab an 18-13 advantage. Abreu, Ramsey, and Louis Caiola each registered a kill during that run.

York College, trailing by five, battled back, as a pair of kills by Heyliger, Jr. sparked a 5-0 run for the hosts, tying the set at 18-all. Later, the Cardinals had a golden opportunity, holding set-point at 25-24, but attack errors from Ramirez and Agokei put the Cougars back in front, 26-25.

The teams continued to tussle back and forth, until York College held a 29-28 advantage. Medgar Evers wouldn't be denied, as a kill by Ramsey helped the Cougars collect the final-three points of the set to win it, 31-29.

In what was a seesaw third set, the stanza featured seven ties in the first 20 points before the teams found themselves deadlocked at 10 apiece. Medgar Evers then rattled off four consecutive points to snatch a 14-10 lead (highlighted by a kill apiece from Ramsey and Akindipe). York College answered with a 7-3 spurt that tied the set at 17-all.

Later, York snatched a 21-19 advantage following kills by Ramirez and Agokei. Medgar Evers refused to go quietly, though, scoring the final six points of the set to win it, 25-21. A kill apiece by Ramsey and Akindipe, as well as four errors by the Cardinals, accounted for those aforementioned six points, as Medgar Evers took a 2-1 lead in sets.

In the fourth set, trailing 4-0, Medgar Evers clawed back to tie it, 4-4. Two of those aforementioned four Cougars points came via a kill by Ramsey, and a service ace by Abreu. Later, trailing 9-8, the Cardinals put together a ferocious 10-2 run to catapult ahead by the score of 18-11. Heyliger Jr. sparked that run with a pair of kills, with Ramirez and Sanchez also contributing one kill apiece.

York continued to push, going up by nine, 21-12, before a 5-1 Medgar Evers run shrunk the Cardinals' edge to five points (22-17). Two kills by Ramsey, and three attack errors by the hosts, accounted for the Cougars' points during that spurt. The Cardinals responded well to that Cougars run, though, earning three of the final four points of the set to win it, 25-18, as the teams headed for a fifth and deciding set.

In the fifth, trailing 11-8, the Cougars put together four consecutive points to take a 12-11 edge, courtesy of a kill by Ramsey, an ace by Abreu, and hitting errors by Mondesir and Heyliger Jr. York swatted back with a kill by Glenver Stuart, and an ace by Heyliger Jr., to take a 13-12 lead.

Later, with the fifth set knotted at 14-all, the Cardinals registered the final two points of the evening, courtesy of a Caiola service error, and an ace by Mondesir.

York College swatted .058 for the match (48-39-156), while Medgar Evers earned a hitting percentage of .041 (41-35-148). The teams deadlocked at 65 digs apiece, and the Cardinals held a 46-37 edge in assists. Finally, it was the Cougars holding a slim 14-13 advantage in blocks.

Medgar Evers will return to the court on Friday evening, as the Cougars travel to the Bronx to take on the Lightning of Lehman College in another CUNYAC contest. Start-time at the APEX Center is scheduled for 7:00pm.

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