New York, NY | In their next-to-last conference match of the season, the College of Staten Island men’s volleyball team left it all out on the court, but in the end, it was the home John Jay Bloodhounds that scored a 3-0 win over the Dolphins as part of CUNYAC play. Individual game scores were 25-15, 25-14, and 27-25. The Dolphins fell to 4-12 overall and 1-6 in conference play with the loss, officially dropping them out of contention for a CUNYAC Postseason playoff spot. The Bloodhounds improved their marks to 11-7, 4-2, respectively.
JJC’s relentless attack in the opening two sets proved too strong for the Dolphins and the Bloodhounds were successful by getting out to a modest early lead in the first set 4-2 on two Krystian Surdel kills. A 9-3 run later opened up a bigger, 18-10, cushion for the home team, as Anthony Francois scored two kills and an ace in the run, while Juan DeJesus powered in two kills as well.
The Bloodhounds added another 15 kills in the second set on just 26 attacks, good for a .346 attack percentage. This time, CSI however took control at the outset, storming out to a 7-1 lead thanks to a kill each from Christian Dumadag and James Yi. Three-straight Surdel kills, however, got the Bloodhounds going, and they never stopped, going on an 17-2 run in total to take an 18-9 lead at one point. DeJesus added three-straight kills in the run as well.
CSI needed a lift, and they certainly got one in the third frame. Adil El Haddad started for CSI with a service ace, and the teams parlayed three separate lead changes through the opening stages. With John Jay up 15-13, CSI started to rally and a Tairou Diaman kill gave CSI back a 16-15 lead. Again the two teams battled back and forth, and CSI was forced to ask for time down, 21-19.
John Jay would take a 24-21 lead in the final set but could not seal the game as they committed three-straight errors to tie the score at 24-24. CSI would tie again at 25-25, until Surdel notched a kill and Dejesus capped the match with another one that just hit inside the sideline for the win.
DeJesus led all scorers with 15 kills, while Surdel added 11. francois led JJC with two aces and four blocks, while Alexander Santana led with 10 digs. CSI’s Yi finished with a team-high five kills, while Zebin Guo led defensively with seven digs. El Haddad led the way with two aces and 15 assists.
CSI will next be in action on the road on Sunday, when they get hosted by Yeshiva University for a 1pm matinee.
