PATCHOGUE, N.Y.- The Hunter College men's volleyball team split a pair of matches Saturday afternoon at a tri-match hosted by St. Joseph's (L.I.) inside the John A. Danzi Center Gymnasium. The Hawks opened the day with a four-set victory over Curry before falling in four sets to the host Golden Eagles.
Game 1: Hunter 3, Curry 1
(21-25, 25-21, 26-24, 25-20)
Hunter responded to an opening-set loss with a strong bounce-back performance, defeating Curry in four sets to improve to 2-1 on the season.
After dropping the first set, the Hawks found their rhythm offensively in the second, evening the match with a 25-21 win. Hunter then edged out a tightly contested third set, 26-24, before closing out the match with a 25-20 victory in the fourth.
Ahmed Mohamed led the Hawks with a match-high 26 kills and seven service aces, finishing with 34 points overall. Eddy Kang added 10 kills, while Wyatt Kotuk contributed six kills on .500 hitting and was active at the net with three total blocks.
Wesley Stubbs directed the offense with 22 assists and nine digs, while Lenny Arbitman added 23 assists. K-Ci Akwandoh anchored the net defense, recording five total blocks as Hunter totaled 12 team blocks in the win.
Game 2: Hunter 1, St. Joseph's (L.I.) 3
(25-19, 25-27, 25-19, 26-24)
In the second match of the day, Hunter battled the host Golden Eagles in a competitive four-set contest but ultimately came up short, falling to 2-2 on the season.
After dropping the opening set, the Hawks answered with their strongest offensive stretch of the match, rallying to take the second set, 27-25. Momentum swung back in the third set, and despite a late push in the fourth, Hunter was unable to force a decisive fifth set.
Mohamed again paced the Hawks offensively with 22 kills, while Sebastian Gomez added 11 kills on .292 hitting. Kang finished with 13 kills and a team-high 15 digs, and Akwandoh chipped in seven kills and two block assists.
Stubbs totaled 25 assists, while Arbitman recorded 24 assists as Hunter posted 63 kills in the match.
Hunter will continue nonconference play on Feb. 4, as the team hosts Ramapo at 6 p.m. in the Hunter Sportsplex.
