WILKES-BARRE, Penn. - The Purchase College men's volleyball team lost a pair of contests Saturday afternoon, falling to Wilkes University and CCNY in straight sets.
With the losses, the Panthers now sit at 0-3 on the year. Set scores against Wilkes were 25-15, 25-12 and 25-13.
From the get-go, the Colonials (2-2) were in-command against Purchase. The hosts hit .338 overall with 31 kills to just nine errors. On the other side, the Panthers collected just 13 kills in the effort.
Despite the discrepancies among the hitting totals, Purchase still managed to keep every set close to begin with. The Colonials' hitting was just too much to handle and allowed the hosts to pull away late in each set.
Individually,
Jeremiah Huntt (SO/Bronx, NY) finished with five kills, three digs and two blocks for Purchase, while
Andreo Otiniano (SR/Mamaroneck, NY) and
Matthew Waterhouse (SO/Massapequa Park, NY) each tallied three kills.
In the second match of the day, the Panthers started to play better overall and put a lot of pressure on the Beavers of CCNY. However, the Panthers were once again topped in straight sets, falling by the scores of 25-22, 25-15 and 25-20.
The Panthers hit .126 with 26 kills to 15 errors against CCNY (3-0), while the Beavers answered with 35 kills and a .211 hitting percentage.
In the first set, CCNY jumped out an early lead and maintained it most of the frame. The Panthers did rally late with six-straight points to cut their deficit to 22-20, but ultimately fell, 25-22.
In the second frame, Purchase snuck in front early for the quick advantage, enjoying leads of 8-5 and 11-9 along the way. However, the from that point on, it was all CCNY. The Beavers down 11-9 proceeded to outscore the Panthers, 10-2, over the next 12 points to grab the lead at 19-13. CCNY continued that rally to win the set, 25-15.
The final set played out much like the first two, as Purchase kept things close early before being downed by a CCNY run. The Beavers completed the afternoon with 25-20 third-set win to take the match, 3-0.
Huntt once again led the squad in kills, this time amassing seven. He also added seven digs in the loss.
Meanwhile, Otiniano chipped in six kills, seven digs, a block and an ace, while
Joe Higgins (SO/College Point, NY) recorded five kills and five digs.
Idris Idris (FR/Bronx, NY) finished with a career-high 22 assists.
Up next for the Panthers is a non-conference road matchup with Hunter College on January 29th. That match will begin at 6 p.m. and you can follow it here.
