BOX SCORE NEW YORK, NY - The Hunter men's volleyball team began their quest for a CUNYAC Championship with a straight set victory over #7 College of Staten Island on Tuesday night. The Hawks move on to the semifinals where they will face the winner of the York vs. CCNY matchup at 4pm on Friday April 10.
The Hawks won by the scores of 25-15, 25-13 & 25-15.
In the first set, the Hawks were slow to take control of the set. After the Dolphins cut the Hawks lead to 10-9, the Hawks would win eight of the next 10 points to take an 18-12 lead. During the run the Hawks were fueled by kills from
Benjamin Cassidy and
Steven Tarquinio. They would close out the set on a kill from
Brandon Kohler and an ace by
Ben Crusinberry.
The Hawks controlled the second set early on jumping out to a 12-4 lead after Tarquinio notched his second ace in three serves. The attacking play of the Hawks forced the Dolphins into numerous attack errors and strong serving by the Hawks led to the 25-13 set victory.
Mehmet Ozturk and
Colin Horn recorded back-to-back kills to finish off the Dolphins.
In the third set, the Hawks once again asserted control early on jumping out to an 11-5 lead after a kill from Crusinberry. They would maintain a strong hold on the lead for the remainder of the set and would clinch the victory after back-to-back bad sets by the Dolphins to win 25-15 and secure a spot in Friday's CUNYAC Semifinals.
Tarquinio led the Hawks attack recording 10 kills and four total blocks to go along with a .643 hitting percentage and a team-high three aces. Crusinberry was excellent as well recording seven kills, four total blocks and two aces. Gary Anderson Jr and Jon Peter Sardea each had double digit assists recording 17 and 13 respectively.
Don't forget that the Hunter is hosting the CUNYAC Finals on Friday starting at 4pm, when the Hawks will play. Check Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for details about the Hunter USG Pre-Match party.
