Box Score
The Lehman College men's volleyball team (2-5 Overall, 1-3 CUNYAC) picked up its first conference victory of the season Tuesday evening in thrilling fashion, turning back the York College Cardinals (3-7 Overall, 2-3 CUNYAC) by scores of 30-28, 30-22, 28-30, and 32-30 at the APEX Center in the Bronx.
In the victory for the Lightning, Michigan native and junior Nate Martin paced his squad, tallying 11 kills to go along with nine digs. Fellow junior RJ LeBlanc recorded 13 kills, six digs and two blocks, and sophomore standout Jonathan Cruz added 10 kills and four digs. Setter Matt De Tiberiis contributed in a big way in Lehman's triumph, as the senior tallied 25 assists and 10 digs. Following the victory, Head Coach Daniel Skilins praised his squad.
“Our money players stepped up in the crucial moments in the match,” Skilins said. “Jonathan put forth a tremendous effort, as did RJ, Nate, and Matthew. We need to work on our team chemistry in terms of everybody getting on the same page, but tonight's victory was a step in the right direction for us. It's great to get that first conference victory and hopefully we can feed off of this momentum and get rolling in our conference matches.”
As a team, the Lightning hit .160 while the Cardinals hit .115. Lehman held off the Cardinals in the first set and dominated the second set for the most part. York College stayed alive by recording a victory in the third set. In the fourth and final set, the Lightning were a point away from clinching victory, holding leads of 29-28, 30-29, and 31-30 before finally nailing down the win thanks to a service ace by De Tiberiis who just three days earlier won his fourth ring as a member of Lehman's swimming and diving unit.
Despite the loss for the York College Cardinals, Roger Subervi and Brian Francisco each recorded 15 kills. Subervi also added eight digs and two service aces while Francisco tallied 10 digs and picked up three service aces.
Setter Aruni Piantini set the table for the Cardinals throughout the evening, recording a match-high 39 assists to go along with six digs.
The Lightning will look to record their second consecutive conference victory on Thursday evening as the team travels to Brooklyn, New York to battle the Cougars of Medgar Evers College, with match-time scheduled for 7:30pm.
