BROOKLYN, NY-  The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's volleyball team made it two wins in two nights over Sarah Lawrence, sweeping the Gryphons 25-20, 25-19, 25-23 at Brooklyn Technical High School on Friday evening.  The Bears were also swept in close sets by Cooper Union 25-22, 25-16, 25-23 in the back end of their doubleheader.

 

Freshman Raul Urshela (Orlando, FL/Colonial) tallied 11 kills against Sarah Lawrence for the second straight night, but this time his hitting percentage was a robust .340.  Senior outside hitter Muhammad Ali Bhatti (Brooklyn, NY/James Madison) returned to action after mostly having the day off on Thursday and notched a team-high four aces using his trademark float serve.  Freshman Michael Miner (Schenevus, NY/Schenevus) continued his strong defensive play with nine digs, while sophomore setter Iqbal Husain (West Palm Beach, FL/West Palm Beach) added eight digs and 17 assists.

 

The victory for St. Joseph's did come at a price, however, as senior outside hitter Raymond Morales (Brooklyn, NY/La Salle) had to leave the match after rolling his ankle while attempting a block.  Morales had two kills (.667 pct), an ace and five digs when he went down in the second set.

 

On the back end of the doubleheader, the Bears were doomed by a negative team hitting percentage and a negative service ace to error ratio.  They did roar at to a 6-0 lead in the third set, and held leads of 18-10 and 22-18.  However, Cooper Union made all the big plays down the stretch, including a pancake dig on match point that prevented the score from being tied at 24.  The Bears appeared to suffer from fatigue against the Hawks, as they were down to six bodies in uniform and were playing their third match in 30 hours. 

 

Urshela was the only Bear with double figure kills, reaching 10.  Senior outside hitter Maciej Sadowski (Brooklyn, NY/Cathedral Prep) had a team high nine digs.

 

The schedule doesn't get any friendlier to St. Joseph's, as they travel to the Bronx on Saturday afternoon for a 1 PM tilt with Lehman College.  They have Sunday off before hosting SUNY Purchase on Monday night at Brooklyn Tech.  The Bears stand at 4-7 overall and 2-3 in the HVMAC.  Their next win will be their 5th, a great milestone for a program that has only won once in the previous three seasons.