BROOKLYN, N.Y. - What a game to end the season with!

Despite falling just short, the Purchase College men's volleyball team put on an epic performance Thursday evening, as the squad nearly rallied from a 2-0 deficit at St. Joseph's University-Brooklyn.

Scores for the five-set thriller were 25-21, 25-12, 13-25, 20-25, 15-13.

Initially, it looked like the Bears were going to cruise on the night, as they took the first two sets with relative ease.

However, Purchase wasn't ready to go down without a fight. Beginning in set three, the guests flipped the narrative on St. Joseph's as the Blue and Orange responded by hitting a mind blowing .435 in the middle frame.

In the fourth stanza, the Panthers' attack dropped slightly to a .265 mark, but it was still more than enough to tie things up at two each heading into the final set.

Over the course of the fifth and final frame, the two sides put on an outstanding show as neither team led by more than two points throughout.

With the score tied at 10-10, Purchase and St. Joseph's traded back-to-back-to-back points to push the game to the very precipice at 13-all.

Finally though, the Panthers' luck ran out, as two straight kills from the hosts gave them the set win, 15-13, sealing the hard-fought battle, 3-2.

In the end, Purchase finished the match with a better hitting percentage than the hosts (.219 to .198), though the Bears outpaced the Panthers in kills, 54-46.

Individually, Marcus Garguilo (SO/Port Washington, NY) led the way with 18 kills and two blocks. Luca Spadinger (FR/Loudonville, NY) added nine kills and 14 digs.

Senior Chris Posillico (Saltaire, NY) finished his career with nine kills and 12 digs, while senior Idris Idris (Bronx, NY) wrapped up his Panther tenure with 32 assists and 14 digs.

Jasper Zeray (SO/Brooklyn, NY) tallied a game-high 20 digs and Jaheim Menzie (JR/Bronx, NY) added six digs, an ace and a block.

Despite the loss, the Blue and Orange left the court with their heads held high, as they put on an epic show to closeout the year. 

With the result, Purchase finished the season 7-20 overall and 3-11 in Skyline Conference matchups. The squad will return to action in January 2024.