Union, NJ - Coming off an undefeated opening weekend, the John Jay men's volleyball team continued their road trip on Tuesday night.
The Bloodhounds made their first visit to Harwood Arena since the 2022 season, facing a Kean University Cougars side with eight games already under its belt.
Despite a pair of promising performances over the weekend, the Bloodhounds dropped the contest, 0-3, for their first loss of the season.
SET ONE: John Jay 22 | Kean 25
The Bloodhounds tied the match in the opening points of the first set after falling behind 0-3. Nick Fuentes's first kill of the match helped even the score at 3-all.
John Jay's attack struggled to get moving in the initial frame, logging only ten kills and falling behind by as many as five points.
Adam Bainey spurned the visitors on, trailing 10-15, picking up back-to-back kills before Omar Alaoui's first kill of the evening made it a three-point run.
The Cougars totaled four errors over the next seven points to pull the Bloodhounds level at 18-18.
The Bloodhounds rode the momentum to their first lead of the set behind a pair of solo blocks by newcomer Attila Nerette. They led 20-19 late in the set.
Even after tying the set at 21-all, the Bloodhounds could not the contain Kean, and dropped the opener 22-25.
SET TWO: John Jay 16 | Kean 25
The Cougars responded to the comeback to open the second set, jumping out to an 8-2 lead.
Returning graduate student Logan Ramos scored one of his two kills in the set to punctuate a three-point run for his Bloodhounds, pulling them within three, 9-12.
Kean answered back with three of their own, pushing their lead back to six and cementing their advantage for the set.
The Bloodhounds were held to just six kills in the second set, falling 16-25.
SET THREE: John Jay 16 | Kean 25
Both sides trotted out new lineups for the final set and the Bloodhounds' new group could not find a rhythm.
Ramos had his best performance of the evening, finishing with four kills and hitting .222 in the last frame.
The visitors struggled at the service line, logging six of their 12 service errors in the third set.
Ramos, Alaoui and Nerette each scored as a kill as the Bloodhound attempted to keep the match moving while trailing, 13-24, but the three swings were not enough.
Ramos led the Bloodhounds with seven kills and six digs, adding two blocks and an assist.
NEXT UP: The Bloodhounds kick off the 2025 home slate with their first tri-match of the season on Saturday, Feb. 1. John Jay kicks off the day against Widener at 11:00 a.m. before finishing the day with their second match of the last week against Penn State Schuylkill at 3:00 p.m. The two visiting teams will play at 1:00 p.m.
