BRONXVILLE, N.Y. — The St. Joseph's University, N.Y. (Brooklyn) men's volleyball team bested Sarah Lawrence College in five sets, 3-2 (25-22, 25-23, 20-25, 18-25, 15-9), to split their Skyline Conference tri-match on Saturday afternoon. 

Earlier in the day, the Bears dropped a straight-set decision to Purchase College (00-25, 00-25, 00-25).

How it Happened vs. Purchase

There was very little separating the Bears and Panthers in the opening set as there were 17 ties and six lead changes. The back-and-forth set came to a halt at 25-all when Purchase picked up the set's final two points to clinch the 27-25 result.

The Panthers blitzed to an 11-3 lead to begin the second. Despite a four-point stretch in which the Bears reduced their deficit to 17-11, Purchase's advantage hovered in the double digits for much of the set; ultimately winning the middle frame by 11 (25-14).

The Bears hung on to start the closing set. However, Purchase's attack propelled them to a 25-19 set win and 3-0 tri-match sweep.

How it Happened vs. Sarah Lawrence 

A 5-0 run gave the Bears a lead they held onto throughout the set. Weathering a Sarah Lawrence surge late in the set, Alex Helfant (Quito, Ecuador/Alliance Academy International) and Lasha Kemashvili (Brooklyn, N.Y./James Madison) combined for eight kills in the frame as the Bears saw out a 25-22 result.

The second stanza saw the Bears narrowly holding on to the lead before, at 17-14, the Gryphons tied the proceedings at 18-all before leading 22-20. From this point, four Helfant kills fueled a 5-1 stretch to earn a 25-23 set win.

The Bears erased SLC's 4-1 start to the third. SJBK ultimately led by one, 14-13, before the hosts rallied off 12 of the final 18 points in the frame to grab a set from the navy and gray, 25-20.

Sarah Lawrence led to begin the fourth set but the Bears would equalize midway through. However, the Gryphons held on to force a decisive set, winning 25-18.

The start of the fifth set saw both sides go on scoring runs with the Bears holding a 9-7 edge. The Gryphons leveled the stanza before the navy and gray benefited from six unanswered points to earn a 15-9 triumph, securing a split of Saturday's tri-match.

For the Bears vs. Purchase

• Helfant had a team-high 16 kills to go with six digs.

• Frank Rivera's six-kills were good for second on the team. He also brought up five digs.

• Keiran McMullan had 20 assists and a pair of service aces.

For the Bears vs. Sarah Lawrence 

• Helfant's 26 kills were a season-high. He also had 17 digs and an ace.

• Leonel Bravo (Astoria, N.Y./Queens Vocational & Technical) finished with a campaign-best 24 digs and four assists.

• Rivera brought up 20 digs and had 10 kills.

• Kemashvili and Frank Tello (Quito, Ecuador/Alliance Academy International) each had eight kills.

• McMullan had a double-double of 41 assists and 10 kills.

Up Next

The Bears return to Ramapo College on Monday, March 25 at 7 p.m.