PURCHASE, N.Y. - The No.4 seeded Purchase College men's volleyball team secured its spot in the Skyline Conference Semifinals Tuesday night, after besting the 5th-seed University of Mount Saint Vincent during the first round of the playoffs.
Set scores for the contest were 22-25, 29-27, 25-20 and 25-23.
The energy in the gym was electric on the night, as the contest marked just the second time in program history that men's volleyball hosted a playoff game.
While the first set saw the young squad battle early game jitters, resulting in dropping the set, they quickly calmed down and locked in from there.
Set two saw the closest action of the contest, as the two sides used extra points to settle the score and the largest lead for either side was just four points.
Interestingly enough, the Dolphins possessed both four-point leads in the frame, as the Blue and Orange rallied late to claim the crucial set.
The turning point came as they trailed 23-19. From there, the hosts scored four points in a row and six of the next seven to make it, 25-24.
However, neither team could put together the run they needed to claim the stanza until Purchase finally did so down, 27-26, rattling off three consecutive points to earn the win.
With renewed life, the energy of the team and fans completely changed heading into the third frame. As a result, the Panthers collected their "easiest" win of the night, as they topped the guests, 25-20.
During the run, they led by as many as eight points as they controlled the set from the beginning.
With the advantage for the first time all night, the hosts aimed to seal the deal in the fourth and final frame.
The squad opened with seven of the first eight points as they used the early margin to lead the entire way. Despite the quick start, Mount Saint Vincent did not go down without a fight.
In fact, it managed to trim the advantage to just a single point late, 24-23, before a service error handed the match to the hosts.
Overall, the Panthers finished with 46 kills on .243 hitting. For the guests, they totaled 48 kills and a .146 hitting percentage.
Individually,
Jael Martinez (FY/Bronx, NY) and
Channing Williams (FY/Neptune, NJ) paced the Blue and Orange with 14 kills apiece. The latter also recorded a match-high 15 digs.
Tyler Ryan (JR/Port Reading, NJ) added 12 kills and 14 digs, while
Aidan Araza (FY/Jersey City, NJ) finished with 23 assists and 12 digs in the win.
Up next for Purchase is the Skyline Conference Semifinals at No. 1 seeded St. Joseph's University-Long Island. That matchup is scheduled for April 11th at 7 p.m.
