NEW YORK, NY -- Pratt Institute men's volleyball team produced a tri-match sweep, defeating both the Culinary Institute of America and host Yeshiva University Sunday afternoon.
Match 1 | Pratt 3, Culinary Institute 0: Dean Liaw recorded 15 kills on 28 attempts, posting a .429 hitting percentage, while David Cutler provided 23 assists and three service aces as Pratt swept the Steels 25-19, 25-19, 25-20. Andreas Haji-Georgi compiled 12 digs and 5 kills and Kristopher Patton led all competitors with 17 digs as the Cannoneers limited Culinary to a -.097 attack overall.
Following a first set win, in which Pratt never trailed, Culinary controlled the early part of the second game due to a pair of Cannoneer errors. Tied at 15-15, a 5-0 run, highlighted by a pair of Liaw kills, allowed Pratt to regain their momentum and take the second 25-19.
The third set was again highly-competitive, however, the attack of Ari Grant (nine kills) and Cutler (six kills) closed out Culinary Institute in convincing fashion.
For the Steels, Enrique Daofo led the way with seven kills and 10 digs, as Culinary Institute dropped to 0-3 on the season.
Match 2 | Pratt 3, Yeshiva 1: After taking the first two sets, Pratt dropped the third set to host Yeshiva University before taking game four and sealing victory (25-22, 26-24, 15-25, 25-21).
Dean Liaw and Ari Grant again led the Cannoneer attack, collecting 11 kills apiece. David Cutler registered 21 assists and seven service aces, while Justin Tiglao notched a career-best 14 digs as Pratt improved to 6-2 on the season. The Maccabees fell to 1-5 overall
In game two, the Cannoneers faced set point as they trailed 24-23. However, two consecutive point, capped off by Cutler's ace, saw Pratt go up two game to none. Yeshiva claimed the third set (25-15) and led 16-15 in the fourth before consecutive kills by Grant gave Pratt the lead for good as they closed out Yeshiva 25-21.
Samuel Marcus (seven kills) and Michael Klein (16 assists, four aces) paced the Maccabees, while Hirschy Zaks led all players with 21 digs.
Pratt returns to action on Thursday as they host Purchase College at 7:30 pm at the Pratt ARC.
