Box Score Bronx, N.Y. – The No. 3 Lehman College men's volleyball team ran out to a big lead early, and never looked back as they defeated the No. 6 College of Staten Island in straight sets, 3-0 [25-10, 25-16, 25-13], in the CUNYAC Tournament quarterfinals Tuesday night at the APEX Center.

With the win, the Lightning (15-10, 6-2 CUNYAC) advance to the semifinals Thursday night on the campus of Hunter College.

Roberto Ventura Diaz led the way with a game-high 15 kills in the win. Peter Veljovic added nine kills along with two service aces and a block, while Yaw Eshun slammed seven of his own. Emmanuel Ortiz dished out a game-best 23 assists with 11 digs, while George Montilla collected 11 assists.

The Dolphins were paced by Mark Palencia, who had three kills and an ace in a losing effort. Zebin Guo and Danil Kukovitskiy each compiled two kills, while Brandon Lei delivered 11 assists.

Lehman scored nine of the first 11 points in set one, and would rattle off the final seven points to grab a commanding 25-10 win. The team slammed 15 total kills in the frame, and had a .448 hitting percentage (.278 overall).

Staten Island would grab a small edge in the early part of set two, but six straight Lightning points would push them ahead. After the Dolphins got within 14-12, the squad would ride kills by Ventura Diaz, Eshun, and Y. Diaz to take the second stanza.

In set three, the teams would go back and forth and Lehman would hold just a 10-9 advantage. The Lightning would erupt as Ventura Diaz and Veljovic would collect kills, and numerous CSI mishaps would lead to 11 straight points and would comfortably earn the straight-set win.

Lehman will play No. 2 Baruch College in the CUNYAC semifinals Thursday night. First serve is set for 4:00 p.m. on the campus of Hunter College.