Box Score Riverdale, N.Y. – The Lehman College men's volleyball team battled back to even the match at a set apiece, but could not break through any further as they dropped to the College of Mount Saint Vincent in four sets, 3-1 [24-26, 26-24, 22-25, 23-25], Wednesday night in Riverdale.
Roberto Ventura Diaz led the Lightning (1-5) with a game-best 19 kills along with 14 digs in a losing effort.
Emmanuel Ortiz added 10 kills and dished out 28 assists, while
Yordy Diaz slammed 11 kills. They also got 34 digs from
Jose Bautista and 22 assists from
George Montilla.
The Dolphins (4-4) were paced by Tyler Cucullu, who led the team in kills (12), blocks (three) and assists (30) in the victory. Jordan Steiger added 11 kills and 16 assists, while Neven Skoblar slammed 11 kills with three aces.
Lehman and Mt. Saint Vincent went back-and-forth in the first set, but the Dolphins moved ahead 20-17 that forced a Lightning timeout. Three Ortiz kills along with kills from Ventura Diaz and
Yaw Eshun helped even the score at 24. However, an attack error and a Dolphins kill closed out the set.
In the second, the Lightning looked to be in control with seven of eight points due to some Dolphin attack errors to go up 24-19. Mt. St. Vincent stormed back with five straight points to tie the game, but an Ortiz kill and Diaz's service ace gave Lehman a set victory.
Up 21-17 in the third, the Lightning allowed eight of the next nine points to fall behind two sets to one. They then fell behind early 12-6 in the fourth set, but chipped away at the deficit to grab a 14-13 edge. After the Dolphins extended a 24-21 lead, Diaz and Ventura Diaz battled to within a point but a final Steiger kill closed out the match.
Lehman will return to action next Tuesday night on the road, when they meet York (N.Y.) in a non-CUNYAC matchup. First serve in Jamaica is set for 7:00 p.m.
