The College of Staten Island men’s volleyball squad had their weekend get off to a rocky start, falling in three-straight matches at the Bard College Invitational Tournament in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY. CSI fell first to Vassar College by scores of 25-5, 25-13, and 25-16, then fell to Rutgers University – Newark by scores of 25-12, 25-9, and 25-12, and then dropped a 3-0 decision to host Bard by counts of 25-7, 25-23, and 25-22.
In the opener the Dolphins could not get much going, scoring only five kills in the first two games of the three-game set. Vassar scattered 36 total kills and another 10 aces in the win, Justin Edwardsen was the leader offensively for the Dolphins, scoring four kills, while Song Shin Low led defensively with four digs. Leading the way for Vassar was Matthew Knigge with 9 kills, while Zechariah Lee led with 16 assists and Nick Zarchen led with seven digs.
CSI had four service aces in the second match against Rutgers-Newark, but could only muster six kills as they struggled against the Raiders. Mark Palencia led with two kills while Kiril Antonov and Edwardsen led the way with two aces apiece. Rutgers’ balanced attack yielded 33 kills, led by Jose Mendez’ eight. Kevin McCandless led with 28 assists while Quocmy Nguyen led with 6 digs.
CSI did not win a game in the third and final match, but they certainly made a good impression dropping the final two games by just five total points. CSI had an evening-high 23 kills, led by Edwardsen’s eight total kills. Brian Sheydvasser also scored high with seven kills. Philip Szumanski tallied 22 assists while Ronald Tisbe scattered eight digs. For Bard, the team was led by Jesse Smalls’ 10 kills, while Joseph Stier had 19 assists and Alex Adams led with eight digs.
The Dolphins are back in action on Sunday against another Dolphins squad of the College of Mount Saint Vincent on the road at 7pm.
