JAMAICA, NY --- (www.YORKATHLETICS.com) York College men's volleyball opened their 2020 CUNYAC slate at home Monday against the Hunter College Hawks (8-4, 2-0 CUNYAC) with a setback in straight sets (25-12, 25-12, 25-7) before falling in three sets (25-18, 25-13, 25-14) to the Medgar Evers College Cougars (6-1, 1-1 CUNYAC) inside York College Gymnasium.
 
Justin Saji scored two of York's team-leading five points in the first set against Hunter, totaling five kills on the match in 19 swings to go along with four digs.  David Heyliger, Jr. followed with four kills and three digs as Juan Rodriguez directed the offense with 10 assists.

The Cardinals tied the game twice in the first-two sets, and trailing 12-9, Hunter put the first set away with a 9-0 run.  York matched Hunter with the second point of the second stanza before the Hawks took control and closed out the set with a 10-2 spurt.  Hunter jumped ahead with six-straight points in the final set and constructed a series of scoring sprees to solidify the sweep.

York totaled five kills in the opening set to hit .118 and finished the match attacking at a rate of -.069.  The Hawks hit .431 and held the edge in points (49-12), kills (41-12), aces (7-0), blocks (1-0), assists (36-11) and digs (28-18).  

Hunter was led by Daniel Kim, who produced 12.5 points on eight kills and four aces.  Aryaan Meer added eight kills while Raymond Yu captained the Hawks on offense with 33 assists. 

Against Medgar Evers, Saji went for a career-high 7.5 points, five kills and 2.5 blocks to pace the Cardinals.  Heyliger, Jr. chipped in with four kills and served York's lone ace. Rodriguez dished out nine aces and scooped six digs.  John Vitor led the Cardinal defense with a career-high 11 digs.

York took the early lead in the first set with the game's first point tallied on a kill by Erick Ortega for the 1-0 advantage.  Both teams kept it close until Medgar Evers ripped seven-straight points to build a 12-point lead (19-7). York answered with a 5-0 run as Rodriguez served five-straight points to pull the Cardinals within seven before Medgar Evers took the first set with six of the game's next 12 points.  The Cardinals led early during a second set that featured a pair of lead changes and five ties. Medgar Evers was too much as they closed out the second stanza with a 17-7 run and went up by as many as 11 points in the final set to seal the victory.

The Cardinals finished the match hitting -.100 compared to Medgar Evers' .236.  York outplayed Medgar Evers in blocks (3-2) while the Cougars owned the advantage in points (46-15), kills (37-11), aces (7-1), assists (36-11) and digs (40-34).    

Enmanuel Jaquez and Sebastiann Perez led Medgar Evers to victory with 12 and 10 kills, respectively.  Alex Bridgelall moved the Cougars on offense with a match-leading 31 assists. Jovan Scott served three of the team's seven aces while Austin Romeo recorded 10 digs.  
 
The Cardinals (1-6, 0-2 CUNYAC) return to the court Saturday (Feb. 22) in Riverdale, New York for a non-conference tilt against the College of Mount Saint Vincent Dolphins (0-10) starting at 12 p.m. inside Peter Jay Sharp Center. 

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