BRONX, NY - The Purchase College men's volleyball team cruised to a victory Thursday night, as the Panthers topped Lehman College in straight sets.

Set scores for the non-conference battle were 25-19, 25-16 and 25-23.

The Panthers began the night with a dominating performance in the first set, as the guests hit .316 and collected 16 kills along the way. Purchase used an early five-point scoring run to put some distance between itself and the hosts, before closing out the opening frame with four-straight points.

The Panthers carried that momentum into the second set, as they scored the first four points and nine of the first 11 points in the stanza. Scoring runs continued to propel the guests, as the team tallied three separate runs of four points or more in the set.

Despite having the long runs and winning by its biggest margin of game (25-16), it was actually the worst-hitting set Purchase had on the night, as the guests recorded just 10 kills and a .094 hitting percentage. 

Luckily, the Panthers' hitting improved in the final set, to the tune of 15 kills and a .171 hitting percentage. And those numbers proved to be valuable in the end, as Purchase just manged to edge out the hosts, 25-23. 

To open the third and final set, the Panthers were cruising as they jumped out to leads of 5-1 and 13-8. However, the Lightning of Lehman never gave up and battled all the way back to grab their first lead since early in the first frame at 16-15. 

After the two sides traded points to make it 17-16 in favor of Lehman, the Panthers responded with their trademark of the night - a scoring run. The guests proceeded to score the next four points in a row, thanks to three kills and an ace to retake the lead for good. From there, Purchase held off Lehman for the tight win, 25-23, to secure the match victory.

Overall, the Panthers (2-6) finished with a .198 hitting percentage and 41 kills in the win. As for the Lightning (3-7), the hosts recorded totals of just .075 with 25 kills on the night.

Jeremiah Huntt (SO/Bronx, NY) led the way for Purchase with a game-high 14 kills and 13 digs. Chris Posillico (SO/Bay Shore, NY) recorded 15 digs, eight kills and two aces in the effort. 

Christian Colon (JR/Bronx, NY) added eight kills with four blocks, while Andreo Otiniano (SR/Mamaroneck, NY) collected 31 assists, 13 digs and two aces. 

Up next for the men's volleyball team is a two-plus week break, before the team begins Skyline Conference play. The Panthers will be back in action on March 1st, when they travel to Ramapo College for a tri-match with Yeshiva University. Purchase will battle the hosts at 11 a.m. and the Maccabees at 1 p.m. You can follow both matches right here.