New York, NY - The John Jay men's volleyball team continued its homestand on Saturday with a doubleheader against non-conference foes Mount Saint Vincent and Division II upstart Dominican.
The Bloodhounds earned their eighth win of the season to start the day witha 3-0 sweep over the Mount Saint Vincent Dolphins and closed out with a five-set battle against the Dominican Chargers.
GAME ONE: John Jay 3, Mount Saint Vincent 0
John Jay retained its perfect record as a program against the Dolphins with the Saturday morning sweep.
Stephen Daly started his first match of the season for the Bloodhounds and scored his first double-digit kills performance in the win. He finished with 12 kills, three service aces (match high) and five digs.
A first-time lineup for the Bloodhounds started strong in the opening set. Steven Ajazi and Matthew Vong accounted for three kills to give the hosts a 6-2 lead to kick off the opener. Daly scored his first two kills of the day in the next Bloodhound run as John Jay broke out to an 11-4 advantage.
John Jay benefited from a match-high nine errors by Mount Saint Vincent in the first set to secure a 25-12 win over the Dolphins.
Vong and Logan Ramos helped shake off an early Dolphin lead in the second set with their kills contributing to an 8-6 advantage for the Bloodhounds. John Jay later made it eight straight points to surge out to a 16-7 lead behind attacks from Ajazi and Daly.
Daly and Ramos scored the lone kills in the final points of the set, which, combined with nine additional attack errors by the Dolphins secured a 25-15 advantage for the Bloodhounds.
Head coach Austin Voges cycled in some more familiar faces in the third set in anticipation of the afternoon match against Dominican, including Jeferson Avila-Macancela and Akashdeep Singh.
Avila-Macancela made an immediate impact on the attack to help his side jump out to a 10-6 lead. Singh contributed three kills in the final set without committing a single error.
Despite Mount Saint Vincent scoring its most points in a set, the Bloodhounds secured the 25-17 third set win to ensure the sweep.
GAME TWO: Dominican 3, John Jay 2
The Dominican Chargers made their first trip to The Doghouse in their inaugural season on Saturday afternoon.
The Bloodhounds worked from behind against the Division II foe in the first set, but took advantage of seven early Charger errors to tie the game at 13-13. Daly gave the hosts the lead with a kill and ace on back-to-back points.
A pair of kills by Avila-Macancela in the closing points ensured the first set stunner, 25-20.
Early Bloodhound errors in the second set opened the door for a 10-5 Chargers run and forcing a John Jay timeout. Alex Bridgelall contributed a pair of kills in a 4-0 stretch that cut the Dominican lead to just 14-11.
Daly stepped up again in the absence of Singh and gave his team its first lead since the third point of the set with a kill for a 19-18 advantage.
Dominican's Tommaso Falchi scored a pair of key blocks at the end to cap a 4-0 run answering the lead change and giving the Chargers a 23-20 advantage. Two key service errors by the Bloodhounds cost the home squad the set, 25-22.
With an even slate headed into the third set, the Chargers earned another quick start. A trio of well-timed swings helped earned them a 7-2 lead. Despite trailing 11-4, the Bloodhounds took advantage of long rallies to help even out the score.
Daly once again came up strong and his and Ramos's efforts contributed to a 6-2 run that tied the set at 20-all.
The Bloodhounds finally earned a lead, 26-25, on one of Avila-Macancela's 12 kills and a Charger swing out of bounds earned John Jay a 27-25 third set win.
John Jay looked to lose the match out in the fourth set, up 2-1, but this initial Charger lead became insurmountable. The Bloodhounds seven attack errors hampered the offense and Dominican never trailed after taking a 7-1 lead. The visitors 25-19 win in the fourth set forced the decisive fifth.
The Dominican attack was ready to play in the fifth, with three different Chargers scoring kills in the opening three points and kickstarted a 5-2 lead. Dominican extended its lead to as much as 12-6 in the fifth, but John Jay had a final push in its arsenal.
Freshman libero Micah Rossman scored a rare kill to add to Ramos's 13th of the day and power a 5-1 run, cutting the Dominican lead to just 13-11.
The Bloodhounds were unable to tie the game, falling 15-11 in the final frame.
Ramos's 13 kills against Dominican marks just the third double-digit showing this season and the second this week.
NEXT UP: John Jay returns to action on Mar. 2 for a CUNYAC tri-match, facing Brooklyn College (12:00 p.m.) and Hunter (4:00 p.m.) at The Doghouse.
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