Purchase, NY (Feb. 2, 2019) – Two days after earning a forfeit win against Pratt College, the Purchase College men's volleyball team returned to their home court to host a non-conference tri-match.

Despite a strong showing, the Panthers dropped both matches—first falling to Wilkes University 3-0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-15) and later to Baruch College, 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-16).

VS WILKES
Wilkes netted a .267 hitting percentage in the opening set. The Colonels combined for six kills and Andrew Potter posted an impressive four aces to lead the visitors to a 25-11 win.   

Back-and-forth scoring was the theme of the second set before Wilkes broke free with a 6-0 run to take a 14-8 lead. The Colonels continued to connect and closed the set (25-17) on a Brian Vu service ace.

WU's Jones Mensah led the charge in the third set, collecting three kills on four attempts without a single error (.750). Wilkes secured the 3-0 match win with a 25-17 final set victory.

VS. BARUCH
Following its 4-1 victory over Wilkes in the second game of the afternoon, Baruch closed the day with a 3-0 shutout over Purchase.

In the first set, the Bearcats jumped out to an 18-8 lead before back-to-back Purchase kills from Luke Kubisch (SR/Delmar, NY) ignited an 8-2 Panther run. Marc Prado (JR/Manhattan, NY) and Erick Zajac (FR/Staten Island, NY) contributed kills in the rally that brought PC within four points of the Bearcat lead. The Baruch offense however did not retreat, putting up five-straight points to close win the set, 25-17.

Baruch continued to heat up, posting its best offensive showing in the second set. The Bearcats hit .368 as a team in the stanza en route to the 25-17 win.

Huntt and Zajac put up kills to fuel a Purchase 5-3 run in the opening plays of the third set. Baruch's Nicholas Godino notched a point to give the visitor's a 7-6 lead but PC tied the score yet again on a Andreo Otiniano (JR/Mamaroneck, NY) kill.

In the plays to follow, back-to-back Panther errors allowed Baruch to take a 12-8 advantage. The Bearcats carried the lead for the remainder of the set and closed with a 4-1 run to secure the match victory.

Despite its loss in game two, Purchase saw some standout Panther performances, including a team-best seven kills on 19 attempts (.105) from Jeremiah Huntt (FR/Bronx, NY) and an impressive 16 assists and two blocks from Otiniano. Joey Dyckman (FR/Verplanck, NY) led the Panther defense with 12 digs.

Up next, the Panthers are set to host New Jersey City University for a non-conference match this Thursday (Feb. 7), starting at 7 p.m.