NEW YORK – No. 2 Pratt Institute bested No. 3 St. Joseph's-Brooklyn 3-2 in a Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Men's Volleyball Semifinals thriller but was outmatched by top-seeded host Yeshiva University, 3-0, in the HVIAC Championship Wednesday night at the Max Stein Athletic Center.
Pratt outside hitter David Cutler was named HVIAC Player of the Year in a post-tournament ceremony. The sophomore led the conference in kills per set and digs per set. Both he and senior Alex Arsovski were named to the All-HVIAC Team.
HVIAC Semifinals: No. 2 Pratt 3, No. 3 St. Joseph's-Brooklyn 2
Pratt opened up a 5-1 lead in the deciding set and won it 15-7 in the No. 2 Cannoneers 3-2 victory over No. 3 St. Joseph's-Brooklyn in the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Men's Volleyball semifinals.
Sophomore David Cutler led all players with 29 kills, a .292 attack percentage, and 15 digs, and freshman Brandon Ryan totaled a match-best four block assists as Pratt outlasted the Bears.
Out of a Jason Demas timeout trailing 11-13 in the opening set, the Cannoneers responded with a 5-0 run capped by a Cutler kill in taking a 16-13 lead, forcing a Bears timeout. Back-to-back Cutler kills later forced another Kristin Wulff timeout. Two points later, a St. Joseph's service error closed out Pratt's 25-18 Game 1 win.
St. Joseph's responded from early on in Game 2, taking an 8-6 lead that forced a Jason Demas timeout after three consecutive Clyde Delacruz kills. Two straight Jessup Sanna service aces upped the lead to 12-7, and a Raul Urshela solo block widened the margin to 21-12 in St. Joseph's 25-16 victory.
Pratt tied the third set at 9-9 on an Ari Grant kill, and the junior's solo block led to a Wulff timeout with the Cannoneers on top 11-9. A Cutler kill and Bears attack error handed the Cannoneers the team's largest lead yet at 18-14, and Grant's continued control of the net sealed the set. The middle hitter, playing in only his second match of the season, sent home a kill to increase the lead to 23-16, and his block then widened the gap to 24-16 before a Bears attack error iced the 25-17 triumph.
Two Cutler kills snapped a 3-3 tie as Pratt jumped out to a 6-3 lead. A Connan Moody solo block of a Delacruz attack followed by a booming Cutler kill forced a Bears timeout with Pratt up 9-4, but the Bears refused to go quietly. A 10-0 St. Joseph's run found the team on top 16-12, and a Cutler attack error later increased the Bears lead to 18-13. With St. Joseph's leading 24-18, Delacruz returned the favor to Moody with a solo block to close the set, forcing a deciding Game 5.
After the teams traded attack errors for the first three points, an Alex Arsovski kill and two Bears errors put Pratt on top 5-1 to open the deciding set. A Cutler kill made it a 6-2 game, and another, this from the center of the net, made it an 8-4 contest as the teams switched sides.
Moody and Ryan combined on a block assist at 10-4, and after an extended rally featuring a number of diving Bears digs, a Cutler attack finally landed to increase the margin to 12-4. After a Bears error forced match point at 14-7, a Ryan tip at the left side of the net dropped over for the winning point.
As a team, Pratt hit .111, holding St. Joseph's to a .030 attack percentage. The Cannoneers advanced to face No. 1 Yeshiva University, with which Pratt had split the season series 1-1.
HVIAC Championship: No. 1 Yeshiva 3, No. 2 Pratt 0
Riding momentum from a five-set semifinals win the team busted open in the deciding set, the Cannoneers opened up a 6-1 lead, but late Pratt rallies in Games 2 and 3 both fell short by two at 24-26.
An Ari Grant solo block and his block assist with Matthew Valentine to put the No. 2 seed on top by seven in the early going. Trailing 6-1, the Macabees scored eight of the next 11 to tie the set at 9-9 on a Tuvia Marks kill, and a Grant kill later tied the set at 14-14. A Jorge Dabah desperation attack bounced off the top of the net and over to force a coach Jason Demas timeout trailing 15-17, and an Eliakim Gartenberg kill later found Yeshiva on top 20-16.
Thanks to a Cutler service ace, Pratt came to wit
hin 20-18, but a well-rested Macabees team that needed only three sets for its semifinals win over No. 4 Webb held on for a 25-19 win.
In Game 2, Pratt took a 4-2 lead on a Brandon Ryan kill and controlled until a Koyla Miller kill gave the Macabees a 7-6 lead. Yeshiva led for much of the match, but the Cannoneers briefly took a 19-18 lead on a Connan Moody kill. The Macabees scored six of the next eight, but Pratt offered one final rally.
Facing set point down 21-24, a Cutler kill, a block assist with Moody and another Cutler kill injected late life at 24-24, but Yeshiva answered with a Gartenberg kill before a Pratt attack error in sealing a 26-24 win.
The Macabees scored the first four points of Game 3, but two Connan Moody kills brought Pratt to within 8-5. A Moody and Ryan block assist trimmed the lead to two, and two straight Yeshiva errors later tied the set at 12-12. A Moody solo block and a Cutler service ace pulled Pratt to within 19-17, and the Cannoneers tied the Contest at 21-21 on Grant and Valentine's block assist.
With the set tied at 23-23, a Marks attack error handed Pratt a crack at game point leading 24-23, but Ryan retied the game with a bad set. A pair of Cutler attack errors followed, the latter on a block assist by Tournament Most Outstanding Player Gartenberg and Joseph Lipton, securing the Macabees 26-24 win and HVIAC Championship.
Cutler led all players with 18 kills and 15 digs, and Moody added five kills, two solo blocks, and two block assists. Arsovski chipped in with 11 digs, and Chris Fantin added nine as men's volleyball wrapped up its first season in the HVIAC at 10-6 and 4-2 in HVIAC play.
For Pratt, Arsovski joined Cutler on the HVIAC All-Tournament Team, announced following the championship.
