New York, N.Y. - Hunter College men's volleyball advanced to the 2019 CUNYAC Championship finals on Friday evening after defeating Medgar Evers in three sets. They then took on Baruch College, where the Hawks fell in five close sets to earn second-place in the tournament.
Hunter finishes this part of the season with a 18-13 overall record, earning their third-straight undefeated regular season in conference play.
The Hawks started the day by taking down the #4 seeded Cougars with scores of 25-19, 25-10 and 25-13.
Christian Maisonet led the Purple and Gold with 13 kills, while
Blake Hogan and
Qendrim Shala posted 11 each.
Alec Helford registered 38 assists in the victory to send Hunter to their fourth-straight CUNYAC finals match.
Hunter took on Baruch a few hours later in a match that featured scores of 25-21, 22-25, 25-19, 23-25 and 12-15.
The Hawks earned a three-point lead early in the first set when
Cyrus De Guzman and Hogan earned back-to-back kills. The Bearcats tied the score at 10, but the Hawks worked to take back the lead with a score of 18-15. Baruch did not catch up again as Hunter scored four of the last five points to win, 25-21.
The Purple and Gold once again controlled the beginning of the second set until the Bearcats tied it up at 14 and then pulled ahead by two. Three Baruch errors allowed the Hawks to get a 19-18 advantage, but the set continued to be close when the score got tied back up at 22. Baruch scored the final three points to get a 25-22 victory and tie the match.
Hunter started the third set strong with Maisonet, Shala and Hogan all recording kills for a 14-9 edge. A five-point run gave the Hawks a comfortable 22-14 lead before they managed to finish off the Bearcats, 25-19.
The fourth was another competitive set with neither team taking a commanding lead. With the score 21-21, Baruch scored two-straight points before Maisonet put a ball down for the Hawks. With Hunter trailing by one, 24-23, the Bearcats found the last point to get the 25-23 win and send the match into a fifth set.
Hunter found a 6-3 lead to begin the fifth, but Baruch immediately tied it back up. The Bearcats pulled ahead 10-8 and the Hawks were not able to catch up as Baruch won the set 15-11 to get the match victory.
Maisonet had a tremendous game for Hunter, earning 24 kills, while Hogan followed with 19 kills and 11 digs.
Chris Scandole led the Hunter defense with 15 digs and Shala chipped in 14. Helford posted 51 assists in the loss.
The team will wait to see if they earn a bid to the ECAC postseason tournament on Monday.
