BRONX, N.Y. – The Lehman College men's volleyball team held off a pesky Purchase College squad on Tuesday night, beating the Panthers 3-0. Set scores were 28-26, 25-15, 25-22. Lehman has now won three straight matches, and four of its last five, to improve to 10-9 on the season. Purchase falls to 1-12.

The first set was a harbinger of things to come, as both teams traded points throughout. With the score tied at 26 apiece, senior Luis Colon (Bronx, N.Y./John F. Kennedy) and junior Manuel Bonilla (Bronx, N.Y./Walton) had back-to-back kills to close out the set.

In the second, Lehman went on a smaller 4-0 run, which was part of a larger 7-1 run, to blow the game open. Senior Brian Francisco (Bronx, N.Y./John F. Kennedy) had two kills during that stretch.

In the third set, Lehman led 23-19, on a kill by Francisco. Purchase rallied for the next three points, bringing the score to 23-22, in favor of the Lightning. From there, Francisco and junior Ahmad Abugharbieh (Yonkers, N.Y./Yonkers) ended the game with consecutive kills.

On the night, Francisco hit a whopping .407, with 13 kills and only two attack errors. Abugharbieh hit .455, with seven kills, while Bonilla had 13 kills, hitting .385. Colon led the way with 23 set assists, while Francisco added 11. Francisco also led the team in digs with 13, as Bonilla had 11.

Up next for the Lightning is a date at John Jay College on Thursday, March 14.