Purchase, NY (Feb. 8, 2018) – The Purchase College men's volleyball team put up a strong effort Thursday night at home, but visiting City College of New York has started the season on a roll, completing a 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-14) win over the Panthers to stay perfect at 3-0.

The Beavers led early, but Purchase rallied in the opening set. It was 12-10 in favor of CCNY. Panther newcomer Thomas Slomka (SO/Orchard Park, NY) smashed an ace to bring the hosts within two right after, 14-12.

A City kill swung the momentum back in favor of the Beavers. They led 17-15 and then 20-16. They closed out the set on a 5-0 spurt.

Despite falling behind 1-0, Purchase (0-3) stayed competitive. They trailed 4-1 to start the second set before rebounding again. It was 7-4 in favor of CCNY. A kill by Javier Lazo made it 8-4.

The Panthers battled in the second set and closed with 11-7. However, CCNY increased its lead to 11-8 and then 14-8 before Purchase needed a timeout.

The Panthers scored out of the T.O., but trailed 14-9. That's when City rode the serve of Carlos Maldonado Madrid to jump in front 17-9.

Purchase closed to 18-13 on the serve of Masaya Funakoshi (SO/Tarrytown, NY).

It was 20-14 in favor of City on an error. A Slomka kill would help Purchase keep pace at 22-17, while teammate Andreo Otiniano (SO/Mamaroneck, NY) brought the Panthers within three (22-19) on a kill of his own.

Maldonado Madrid propelled the visitors in the second set. His two kills in a sequence led to a 24-20 advantage and helped CCNY seal the 25-20 final.  

The hosts scored first in the third set, but City recovered and led 3-1 early. The Panthers showed resilience and trailed 5-4 before a 3-0 spurt made it 8-4 CCNY.

It was 13-6 Beavers midway through the set, when CCNY used another strong stretch to lead 18-11 and then 21-12 in closing out the victory.

Maldonado Madrid led the way for CCNY. He finished with a match-high 19 kills, four aces and one block. He added a team-best 11 digs to spearhead the defensive effort as well. Teammate Hei Chun Chan set a match-high 35 assists.  

Purchase was led offensively by Luke Kubisch (JR/Delmar, NY). He totaled 13 kills in defeat. Funakoshi followed with five. Otiniano added four and a team-high 20 assists.

Defensively, libero Christopher Williams (SR/Valley Stream, NY) registered 14 digs. Otiniano added nine. Griffin Rapp (SR/Rochester, NY) finished with six digs, one assist and one ace.