NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Hunter College men's volleyball team split a nonconference tri-match Saturday at the Baruch College ARC Arena, falling in five sets to the host Bearcats before rebounding with a four-set win over Regis College. The Hawks move to 7-3 overall on the season.
Match 1: Hunter 2, Baruch 3
(25-17, 21-25, 20-25, 25-23, 15-9)
Hunter battled through a back-and-forth five-set contest in the opener but came up short in the decisive fifth set.
After dropping the first frame, the Hawks responded with one of their most efficient sets of the season, hitting .611 in the second to even the match. Hunter carried that momentum into the third to take a 2-1 lead before the match tightened late. Despite forcing a fifth set, the Hawks were unable to close it out.
Emmanuel Cochran led the offense with 11 kills on .474 hitting, while Ahmed Mohamed added 11 kills and five service aces. Wyatt Kotuk was highly efficient with seven kills on 10 swings (.700) and contributed six block assists at the net.
Wesley Stubbs dished out 22 assists, and Brandon Yeh added 14 assists as Hunter totaled 46 kills and hit .296 as a team. The Hawks recorded 16 block assists and 27 digs in the competitive loss.
Match 2: Hunter 3, Regis 1
(16-25, 25-19, 25-18, 25-21)
Hunter responded in the second match of the day with a strong four-set victory, overcoming a first-set setback to earn its seventh win of the season.
After falling in the opener, the Hawks found their rhythm offensively, hitting .208 in the second set and increasing their efficiency to .333 and .324 in the third and fourth sets, respectively, to secure the match.
Ahmed Mohamed led the way with 17 kills on .429 hitting and added 12 digs for a strong all-around performance. Emmanuel Cochran chipped in eight kills on .429 hitting, while Demetri Gournelos contributed eight kills at a .412 clip.
Wyatt Kotuk added seven kills on .583 hitting and totaled four block assists. Wesley Stubbs directed the offense with 21 assists, while Lenny Arbitman added 17 assists and 10 digs. Hunter recorded 52 kills and hit .276 as a team while posting 12 block assists in the win.
The Hawks will continue nonconference play on Feb. 22 at Bard College. First serve is slated for 7 p.m.
