Men’s Volleyball Advances to CUNYAC Semifinals with Win over Lehman
York College Athletics
BOX SCORE JAMAICA, N.Y.- The York College men's volleyball team continued its strong play in the CUNY Athletic Conference on the season, defeating the Lightning of Lehman College by a score of 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-19) in their CUNYAC quarterfinal matchup.
The win secured a semifinal matchup against Hunter College, who defeated the Cardinals in their regular season finale. That match will take place at 4 p.m. on Friday, April 11 at the Athletic and Recreation Center at Baruch College.
The Cardinals (19-17) were rarely tested on the evening and were led by the seniors who were honored in between the 2nd and 3rd sets.
Avinash Thomas led all players with 30 assists, while
Leszek Stankiewicz had seven blocks and a game-high three service aces.
Bryan Williams chipped in seven kills of his own. Another senior,
Maximo Bonilla, got the start and got the match started off with a kill to give the Cardinals their first points of the match. He finished the night with four kills.
"We had a much better passing game tonight, said York Head Coach Andre Titus. "Once we start passing better and more aggressively, it makes things better for our hitters and that's what we did well tonight."
The conclusion of the match marked the last game ever played in the York College Gymnasium for all of the aforementioned seniors. The game also marked the passing of the baton for the future of York men's volleyball success to many younger players- freshmen
Randy Adams in particular. Adams shined on the evening, his .533 hitting percentage, nine kills and five digs were all team highs.
"Randy is the go-to man," said Titus. "He is playing at his full potential right now."
Lehman finishes the year with a 9-18 record and was led by Jaleel Lino (16 kills, four digs and .367 hitting percentage). Roberto Perez chipped in twenty assists and Miguel Gallardo added five digs. They also recorded five team blocks versus none for the Cardinals- however the loss marked their third of the year to York and ended their season.
A win in the semifinals for York would secure a spot in the championship match to be played just a few hours later. The Championship match is slated to begin at 8 p.m. Should York advance, they will play either Baruch College or Brooklyn College—who will play in the other semifinal at 6 p.m.
