BROOKLYN -- Pratt Institute battled back from an 0-2 deficit to force a fifth and deciding set before falling 3-2 to St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) Thursday night in Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's volleyball play.
Bears (6-3, 1-0 HVIAC) senior Raul Urshela led all players with seven solo blocks, two of which came down the stretch of Game 5. Pratt sophomore David Cutler tallied match-highs of 26 kills on 72 attempts and 24 digs as the Cannoneers (3-2, 1-1 HVIAC) fell for the first time in league play.
Pratt handed over a pair of early leads in dropping the first two sets. A Brandon Ryan ace in the opener put the Cannoneers on top 7-3, but a Thomas Kennedy kill tied the set at 15-15. The hosts faced game point leading 24-22 after a Cutler kill, but a Pratt attack error, two passing errors, followed by a Taso Kostikas kill allowed St. Joseph's to escape with a 26-24 win that the Cannoneers ultimately failed to overcome.
The Black & Gold took an early four-point lead at 5-1 on a Cutler kill in Game 2, but a Kennedy ace knotted the set at 10-10. An Urshela solo block put the Bears ahead 19-18 before two straight kills from the outside hitter capped his team's 25-20 win.
One of Cutler's two aces abled Pratt to take an 8-6 lead to open Game 3. A Kostikas kill snapped a 15-15 tie, and three straight Cannoneers errors found the visitors thinking sweep leading 19-15. Head coach Jason Demas' club rallied for a 10-3 rally to close the set, as kills from Cutler, Alex Arsovski and Connan Moody before a service ace from Chris Fantin sent Pratt to a 25-22 third set victory.
Fantin's second of two aces sparked a 9-0 run featuring kills from Cutler and Ryan early in Game 4, as the Cannoneers raced out to an 11-4 lead. St. Joseph's rallied, with a 9-2 run crowned by a Kennedy kill bringing the Bears to within 22-21. A pair of Cannoneers attack errors tied the set at 24-24 before a Cutler kill and a visitors passing error forced a fifth set, with Pratt taking a 26-24 Game 4 win.
The Cannoneers spotted St. Joseph's three points after a Norrin Martinez ace opened the set with his team leading 3-0. Pratt used a 4-0 run featuring a Cutler kill and three Bears errors to take an 8-7 lead, but two team rotation errors in serve situations and three late attack errors were too much to overcome. The Cannoneers rallied briefly with Ryan serving, scoring three consecutive points, two on Cutler kills, to pull within a pair at 14-12, but Urselha blocked Cutler's attack to wrap up a 15-12 deciding set victory.
With 24 kills and 22 digs, Urshela finished three blocks shy of a triple-double. Kennedy and Kostikas added 11 and 10 kills, respectively.
For Pratt, Fantin totaled a double-double of 21 assists and 14 digs, while Arsovski added nine kills and 18 digs.
The Cannoneers travel to Newton, MA for Saturday's tri-match at Mount Ida College featuring the host Mustangs and Lesley University. St. Joseph's returns to play Monday, March 9, playing host to the College of Staten Island.
