The College of Staten Island men’s volleyball team is still looking for their first wins within conference play, and they will get a chance to earn a pair today as they get set to host both Medgar Evers College and Brooklyn College as part of a CUNYAC tri-match at The Tank today. With only the top six teams qualifying for the postseason, today’s tri-match will go a long way to determine who makes the CUNYAC Tournament.
CSI vs. MEDGAR EVERS COLLEGE / BROOKLYN COLLEGE
Matchup: College of Staten Island (2-7, 0-4 CUNYAC) vs. Medgar Evers College (4-7. 1-3) / Brooklyn College (7-7, 1-2)
Where: The Tank – 2800 Victory Blvd., Staten Island, NY
All-Time Series: vs. MEC – CSI leads, 6-1 / va. Brooklyn – Brooklyn Leads, 5-1
Last Meeting: vs. MEC – March 16, 2017 – CSI won 3-0 / vs. BC – April 8, 2017 – BC won 3-1
Players to Watch (CSI): Christian Dumadag continues to pace CSI offensively on the attack, posting a team-best 78 kills on 225 attacks this season. He also leads all CSI players in attack percentage with .120. Dumadag also leads the way with 11 aces and sits 3rd on the team in digs with 48. Mark Palencia is second on the squad with 44 kills on 172 attacks and has posted nine aces as well. Defensively, Zebin Guo and Michael Liang have been holding steady, each with 58 digs to lead the way. Adil El Haddad is the assists leader, posting 129 assists this season.
Players to Watch (MEC): A lion’s share of the attack belongs to Emmanuel Jaquez, who has collected a total of 89 kills this season on a team-high 254 attacks. Jovan Scott and Abdul Kamara also have posted over 100 attacks and are a force at the front with 63 collective kills between them. Defensively, Johan Jimenez and Kareem Cyrus trail Jaquez as the digs leaders with 56 and 55, respectively. Cyrus is the primary setter, and has collected 199 assists this season.
Players to Watch (BC): BC has a great one-two punch with attackers Ahmed Moawad and Vaughn Titus, who have 96 kills and 91 kills, respectively for the Bulldogs high-powered attack. Titus is also deadly behind the service line as he has 26 aces this season. Snigho Hasan has been tremendous on the back line, leading the way with 87 digs, while Sayuj Zachariah has garnered 138 assists with Michael Valentin collecting another 135 as the team’s primary setters.
News & Notes: Today’s matches will be critical for playoff positioning. Right now, Brooklyn sits in a tie for the No. 5 position in the standings with a record of 1-2. MEC is 1-3 and is in seventh-place while CSI at 0-4 is in eighth. Only the top six teams will make the CUNYAC Postseason, so should CSI win both matches they would catapult over both MEC and Brooklyn and take the final spot and control their own playoff destiny. MEC and Brooklyn will play one another in the second game of the tri-match. CSI has taken the last six meetings against MEC after losing the first meeting between the two teams all-time. CSI is 2-0 all-time against MEC at home here at The Tank. Against Brooklyn, the Bulldogs have won the last three meetings, and CSI is 0-2 all-time at home against Brooklyn.
