New York, NY - Playing for the first time since February 19, the John Jay men's volleyball team returned to the friendly confines of The Doghouse for Saturday's Tri-Match against CUNYAC rival, CCNY, and the visiting King's College (PA).
The Bloodhounds bested the Beavers, 3-1, while earning a 3-0 decision over the Monarchs. King's (PA) shutout CCNY 3-0 in the middle game of the tri-match.
With Saturday's results, John Jay moves to 7-6 overall while the Beavers fall to 5-6 and 0-2 in league play. The Monarchs stand at 6-10 on the season.
John Jay 3, CCNY 1
The Bloodhounds held a 2-0 lead in the match against the Beavers before dropping the third set and rebounding to earn a 3-1 triumph (25-22; 25-22; 23-25; 25-23) in the opener of Saturday's tri-match.
Sophomore
Nick Fuentes led the way with 12 kills followed by newcomer
Jayden Ferril with seven while
Adam Bainey contributed five kills.
Micah Rossman served up four aces while
Quez Martin added two blocks.
Jimmy Thinlay distributed 31 assists while he and
Logan Ramos recorded a team-leading nine digs.
Sebastian Rodriguez posted five digs in the win.
CCNY was paced by Gabriel Linus, who finished with 16 kills and eight digs. Ruben Santiago had 35 assist while Antonio Oliveria-Nurse and Mahmoud Tayeh had three blocks each.
The two teams were evenly matched until a 9-4 run by the Bloodhounds pushed its lead to 20-12. CCNY rallied in the set with an 8-1 run to get to within one, 21-20, but John Jay closed out the set with a kill from Fuentes and a bad set that gave them the early lead.
CCNY commenced the second set on a 7-3 burst before the Bloodhounds staged a rally, scoring seven of the next eight points to even the match at 12-12 after a kill from Fuentes. CCNY went ahead by two, 22-21, on a kill from Linus, but four straight points with
Nate Whyte at the service line helped steer the Bloodhounds to victory.
In the third set, John Jay had a 19-15 lead, anchored by a kill from Rodriguez, but the Beavers closed out the set on a 10-4 run, capped by a Linus kill to extend the match.
CCNY capitalized on that momentum, opening the fourth set on an 8-3 run. The Bloodhounds continued to fight back, as kills from
Brandon Roman, Fuentes, Thinlay, and
Steven Ajazi evened the set at 14. The Beavers were in a position to send the match into a deciding fifth set, but an emphatic kill from Ferril and a match-clinching kill form Thinlay powered John Jay past CCNY.
For the match, John Jay hit just .237 to CCNY's .257 while the Bloodhounds produced nine aces and had 49 kills on the day.
John Jay 3, King's (PA) 0
In the final match of the day for the Bloodhounds, John Jay edged out King's (PA) in the first set before seizing control of the tempo en route to a 25-21 and 25-14 win.
Fuentes led the way again for the Bloodhounds with 13 kills.
Joshua Acevedo added nine while Bainey recorded seven. Bainey had a season-high five aces. Thinlay and Martin rejected two attempts each, while Thinlay added another 33 assists on the afternoon. Ramos finished with 15 digs.
Logan Place led the way for King's with 13 kills, two blocks, and an ace.
Both teams were evenly matched until the Monarchs went ahead 17-14. The Bloodhounds finished the set on an 8-3 run to take the first set.
John Jay opened the second set with a 10-7 lead before King's evened the score. The momentum swung back to John Jay, as they went ahead 20-12 on Bainey's third ace. The Monarchs battled back to get within three, 23-20, on an attack error by Martin. The Bloodhounds took the set on a mistimed attack by Greg Bousquet.
The Bloodhounds took control in the third set and didn't look back, opening the set on a 6-1 run. With a kill from Martin and Thinlay, the Bloodhounds were up 20-13 before ending the match with five straight points.
For the match, the Bloodhounds hit .269 with 40 kills while limiting King's to just a .200 hitting percentage and 29 kills.
John Jay resumes CUNYAC play on Tuesday, March 3, as they host Hunter at 6:00 p.m.
