Photo courtesy of Ramapo Athletics
After a disappointing loss to conference rival Kean University and losing the top spot in the Skyline Conference on Feb. 24, the men’s volleyball team looked forward to redeeming themselves in their tri-match against the Medaille College Mavericks, Sarah Lawrence Gryphons and St. Joseph’s College-Brooklyn Bears this past weekend.
The Roadrunners hosted the competition at the Bradley Center on Saturday.
The first match for the Roadrunners ended in a 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-20) win against Medaille College.
The Roadrunners hit .337 and produced 39 kills out of 83 attempts with 11 errors.
Freshman outside hitter Paul Close produced a team high 12 kills, and freshman setter Mikhael Erushalimski helped by adding 31 assists.
Junior middle blocker Nick Amos and sophomore outside hitter Spencer Shickora stepped up on defense against the Mavericks. Amos recorded one solo block and four assisted blocks, while Shickora led the team with nine digs.
In the second match of the day, the Roadrunners defeated conference opponent Sarah Lawrence in three sets (25-2, 25-4, 25-7).
Ramapo finished the game against the Gryphons with a hit percentage of .528 with 23 kills out of 36 attempts and only four errors.
Close led the team again with six kills and helped on the defensive side with four blocks, as well. Erushalimski finished with 19 assists. This was the second game of the season where Erushalimski ended the game with less than 25 assists; his first game with less than 25 assists was against Elmira College in their Jan. 22 season debut.
In the final match of the day, the Roadrunners defeated another conference opponent in St. Joseph’s College-Brooklyn 3-0 (25-12, 25-9, 25-10).
Sophomore outside hitter Justin Feigeles closed the game with eight kills and two aces.
Close kept his ball rolling from the previous two games with six kills and led the team with eight digs.
Erushalimski was one assist shy of starting another 25-assist streak, but he ended the game with five digs and two assisted blocks.
The team ended the match with 33 kills on 64 attempts and a .422 hit percentage with only five errors.
Since the 0-4 start, the Roadrunners went 9-4 in their next 13 matches, and they currently hold a 7-1 in the Skyline Conference.
The Roadrunners looked to keep the ball rolling at Hunter College in New York on Tuesday, but were taken down in four sets (25-22, 25-23, 21-25, 25-19).
The Roadrunners will look to bounce back, as they have another tripleheader on Sunday, where they will take on No. 7 Dominican University at noon, then take on two conference opponents in The Sage Colleges and Yeshiva University at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively.
miles2@ramapo.edu
