Brooklyn, NY (March 12, 2018) – The Purchase men's volleyball team traveled to St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) for a Skyline Conference tri-match on Saturday afternoon at the Hill Center.  The Panthers dropped a tough 3-0 (25-6, 25-14, 25-15) to the Dolphins of Mount Saint Vincent College and rebounded with a convincing 3-1 (25-16, 25-9, 25-14) victory over the host SJC Bears.
 
VS. CMSV
The Dolphins (7-10, 3-0 SKY) opened up the first set with a quick six points, forcing Panther head coach Christopher Husmann to call a timeout. CMSV would tally another point (7-0) before a Logan Dickover error put Purchase up on the board, 7-1. The Dolphins continued to dominate offensively, outscoring the Panthers 18-5 to claim the opening-set victory.

Purchase came back stronger in the second stanza but despite their effort, the Panthers dropped the set 25-14.

The third set saw the best of the Panther offense for the game. Down 2-0 to start the set, Purchase tied the game with a kill by junior outside hitter Luke Kubisch (Delmar, NY) and an attacking error by the Dolphin's Scott Sawyer. CMSV outscored the Panthers 7-3 in the next 10 plays to take a 10-6 lead. The Dolphins contiued to run with the lead and secured the match victory with a 25-15 final score.

For Purchase, sophomore Andreo Otiniano (Mamaroneck, NY) led his team with five kills and seven assists. Kubisch finished with three kills and a block, while senior Griffin Rapp (Rochester, NY) notched two kills and two assists. Panther newcomer Masaya Funakoshi (SO/Tarrytown, NY) tallied nine digs for the defensive effort.

VS. ST. JOE'S
The host Bears (0-11, 0-2 SKY) committed three back-to-back attacking errors to put Purchase up on the board, 3-1, in the opening set. The Panthers led the remainder of the set, slamming nine to a 25-16 win.

Similar patterns played out in the second and third sets. Once Purchase gained the lead, the team ran with it until the end. The Panthers secured the 3-0 shutout over SJC with 25-9 and 2-5-14 set scores in the second and third sets, respectively. 

Purchase was carried by Kubisch and Otiniano. Kubisch led the team with six kills, four service aces, and five digs. Otiniano amassed a team-high five service aces, five kills and eight assists. Thomas Slomka (SO/Orchard Park, NY) assisted in with four kills and four service aces, while senior Christopher Williams (Valley Stream, NY) totaled a team-best nine assists and seven digs.