CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Lesley University men's volleyball team fell to non-conference John Jay College, 3-0, Friday evening. Bloodhound first year outside hitter Krystian Surdel (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led the way to victory posting a .417 attack percentage off the bench, tallying six kill on 12 attempts with just one error.
John Jay jumped out to the quick 1-0 match advantage taking the first set, 25-15. Junior middle hitter Alexander Santana (Bronx, N.Y.) notched a set-high four kills to go along with a block assist. Fellow junior, outside hitter Juan DeJesus (Ridgewood, N.J.) and first year outside hitter Ryan Willix (Wantagh, N.Y.) followed up with three kills to give the Bloodhounds the early lead.
The Bloodhounds carried their momentum of the first set into the second, taking an early 3-0 lead behind two service aces from first year setter Steven Alvarado (Corona, N.Y.). It did not last for very long as senior middle blocker Jason Hulteen (Galena, Ohio) ignited a 7-2 run with a kill to take the Lynx's first lead of the match, 7-5, and stopped John Jay's momentum train.
Over the next few points, the match turned into a scintillating, back-and-forth barn-burner with five ties and four lead changes until the Bloodhounds started to pull away late. Following a mini- 3-0 run to take a 17-15 lead, John Jay first year outside hitter Jerson Guaman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) sparked a 5-1 run to put the Bloodhounds back on top by two, 20-18 and turn the game around. Hitting .265 as a team, the Bloodhounds did not look back, edging out the Lynx, 25-23, in the second set, to take the two-game advantage.
However, the Lynx continued to show fight, keeping pace with the Bloodhounds in the third set. Hulteen was nearly flawless from the floor tallying four kills on eight attempts while sophomore middle hitter John Gersbeck (Westerly, R.I.) came through recorded a huge solo block on Willix midway through the set.
But there was no stopping the Bloodhounds' Surdel, who as nearly perfect from the floor tallying four kills on six attempts. Willix provided to be a dominate net play late registering three total blocks – two assisted and one solo – as the John Jay took the final set and match by a score of 25-20.
Gersbeck and Hulteen led the ways with a team-high five kills while junior setter Karuna Chiemruom (Cranston, R.I.) paced the offense with nine assists. In addition, Chiemruom and teammate, senior middle hitter Jacob DiDomenico (North Providence, R.I.) chipped in with two service aces.
John Jay climbs back to .500 with the victory while Lesley drops to 0-9 on the season. The Lynx will be back in action on President's Day, Monday February 20th when they travel to Providence, R.I. to face non-conference Johnson & Wales at 7:30 p.m. The Bloodhounds return to the hard-court tomorrow afternoon for a tri-match across town in East Cambridge against MIT and Elms College.