NEW YORK, N.Y. – The York College men's volleyball team saw its 2015 season come to an end in the semifinals of the 2015 CUNYAC Championships on Friday afternoon. The Cardinals lost to rival Hunter College, 3-0 (25-11, 25-12, 25-11).
York was looking to advance to its third straight CUNYAC Championship match. The Cardinals knocked off Hunter in the previous two semifinals, but Hunter got a bit of revenge this time around.
The Cardinals got off to a rough start in the first set. Four Hunter blocks in the early going gave the Hawks an 8-1 advantage, prompting a timeout by York. Things didn't get much better for York following the timeout, as Hunter continued to expand its lead. Five straight Hunter points stretched the lead from 14-5 to 19-5. After a brief York run, the Hawks closed out the set with a Ben Crusinberry kill. Hunter hit an impressive .421 in the opening set and used strong defense at the net to hold the Cardinals a -.097 percentage.
The Cardinals got off to a better start in the second set. A
Sebastien Francois kill gave York an early, 6-5 advantage. However, the lead would be short lived because Hunter scored the next five points, capping off the run with a pair of blocks to take a 10-6 lead. The Hawks ran away with the set from there, allowing just 6 more points. They continued to exhibit great defense, adding six more blocks in the second set.
The third set was all Hunter once again, with the Hawks jumping out to a 10-3 advantage and never looking back. Once again, York had no answer for the Hawks' defense.
Leading the way for York was
Edner Geffrard, who had eight kills, and Francois, who finished with four kills. Both were playing in their final York home match and closed out stellar four-year careers for the Cardinals.
Hunter featured a balanced attack, with Benjamin Cassidy, Steven Tarquinio, Crusinberry and Kohler each recording six kills. As a team, Hunter combined for 16.5 blocks.
Hunter improves to 21-12 and advances to the Championship match, while York's season is over. They finish with a record of 16-18.
