PATCHOGUE, N.Y. -The Purchase College men's volleyball team was defeated in the Skyline Conference Semifinals Thursday night, falling to the two-time defending champs, St. Joseph's University-Long Island, in straight sets.

Set scores for the contest were 25-14, 25-16 and 25-8.

For the game, No. 4 seeded Panthers did their best to keep pace with the No. 1 seeded hosts, but just couldn't match their hitting.

The Blue and Orange finished with 22 kills on .054 hitting, while the Golden Eagles tallied totals of 42 and .452, respectively.

During sets one and two, the guests kept things within striking distance for a while, before Long Island began to pull away late. The final set saw the hosts race out to a huge lead and never look back.

Individually, Tyler Ryan (JR/Port Reading, NJ) paced Purchase with eight kills and five digs, while Channing Williams tallied six kills and two solo blocks.

Aidan Araza (FY/Jersey City, NJ) collected 10 assists and Mauricio Ramirez (FY/Passaic, NJ) added nine assists in the effort.

While the loss was a disappointment for the young squad, they left the court with their heads high after a banner season.

During the 2024 campaign, the Panthers recorded a new program record for overall wins (17) and conference wins (11), while Williams recorded the second-most kills ever (303).

Thursday's matchup also marked just the second time in program history that the Panthers (17-14 overall) played in the Skyline Semifinals.

Up next for the squad remains to be seen, as the team has applied to play in the ECAC Championship next week, beginning on April 17th. The selection process is still pending.

If the Panthers are not selected, the season will come to an end and they will return to the court in January for the 2025 campaign.

The team has no seniors, so all 11 players are expected to return.