Photo by Justin Roth
The Roadrunners men’s volleyball team suffered a tough 3-2 (21-25, 20-25, 25-19, 25-20, 11-15) home defeat Tuesday night against the Baruch College Bearcats. This loss brings them down to a 2-2 overall record.
Despite falling behind early and losing the first two sets, the Roadrunners evaded an early end to the match by coming back to win the next two sets 25-19 and 25-20.
The Roadrunners faced an 11-15 score in the extra set after staging an impressive comeback against the Bearcats, who were ranked tenth in the NCAA Division III poll.
“Although it was upsetting to see the team lose it was exciting to see a valiant effort to come back,” said freshman Meridith Farley, who was a fan at Tuesday night’s match. “They worked well as a team and look to have a great season ahead of them.”
Sophomore Connor Brandow had 18 kills and freshman Spencer Shickora led the Roadrunners with 18 and 17 kills respectively. Freshman Marinus Tavernier and Garrett Fitzsimmons racked up nine kills each in the loss.
The Roadrunners combined for a total of 61 kills on 165 attempts with 27 errors, with a team hitting percentage of .206.
Ramapo was lead defensively by sophomore Kurt MacDonald with 19 digs, which helped Ramapo win the third and fourth sets. Freshman Justin Feigeles was a prime set-up man for the Roadrunners, registering 47 assists in the match. Feigeles also contributed 11 digs.
Freshman Marinus Tavernier led the team with four blocks to stop some of Baruch’s point streaks, which was allowed the Roadrunners to win back to back sets and get back in the match.
Although they were defeated, the Roadrunners showed a lot of resilience by not giving up after being down 2-0 in the match. They nearly came back to win it, but came up four points short.
While the Roadrunners would have liked to pull out a win, this comeback against a top team should help prepare them for their upcoming Skyline Conference matches. The Roadrunners begin their conference games on Feb. 15, against the reigning champions Kean University.
The Roadrunners should be extra hungry for the match against Kean, with a loss to the Cougars in last season’s Skyline Conference Championship still fresh in their minds.
The Roadrunners will play four games in two days beginning Friday, when they travel to Nazareth College to play in the Golden Flyer Invitational Tournament in preparation for the rest of the season.
azurita@ramapo.edu
