Box Score

NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Yeshiva University men's volleyball team earned a thrilling come-from-behind win over Webb Institute, in five sets, at the Max Stern Athletic Center on Thursday evening. Webb had four different set-point opportunities in the rubber set, but YU would not give in and overcame the 14-10 deficit. Set scores for the match were 25-27, 25-10, 25-20, 24-26, and 17-15.

Freshman outside hitter Jonathan Greenberg led the Maccabees' (4-10) attack with 17 kills and added 10 digs on defense for the double-double. Freshman setter Sander Eizen produced a match-high 44 assists, which are the most by a Maccabees' player in the past ten years. Sophomore middle blocker Samuel Marcus scored eight service aces, while senior libero Hirschy Zaks led all players with 16 digs.

In the opening set, freshman outside hitter Julien Saka produced back-to-back kills to open the match. A service ace by junior outside hitter Moshe Zippel gave YU the early 4-0 advantage. Webb (1-2) would respond by scoring six unanswered points to take the lead. Later in the game, YU countered with six unanswered points of its own, capped off by a service ace from Greenberg, to put the Macs up 16-10. The Webbies rallied to tie the set at 22 points apiece. A short while later, an error by Webb gave Yeshiva a set-point opportunity. The Webbies were un-fazed, scoring three unanswered points to win the first stanza and go up 1-0 in the match.

Yeshiva answered in the second game, leading wire-to-wire. Marcus scored three-consecutive service aces to give the Blue and White a commanding 17-4 advantage. A kill by Saka gave the Maccabees the second set, and evened the match at one.

In the third frame, Yeshiva fell behind by a score of 14-8. The home team would slowly chip away at Webb's lead, eventually tying the stanza at 17, thanks to back-to-back kills by Marcus and Greenberg. Tied at 18, Greenberg slammed home two kills in a row and Samuel followed with three consecutive aces, to give Yeshiva a 23-18 lead. Webb would not recover, as Yeshiva earned the third set victory to put the Webbies on the brink.

The Macs stormed out to a 13-3 advantage in the fourth set. Webb slowly, but surely, rallied to get within striking distance, but Yeshiva eventually built the lead to 19-13. The Webbies went on an 8-4 run to pull to within two. A kill by Greenberg put Yeshiva at set-point. Webb put on a furious rally, scoring five unanswered points to stun Yeshiva, and even the match at two games apiece.

The visiting team's momentum continued into the rubber set, as YU fell behind, 6-0, and then 9-2. YU would slowly turn momentum into its favor as back-to-back kills by Greenberg pulled the home team to within four, at 11-7. Later in the stanza, Greenberg scored an ace to narrow Webb's lead to 12-10. The visiting team scored the next two points to put Yeshiva on the verge of defeat. However, four consecutive errors committed by Webb allowed Yeshiva to tie the set at 14.

The Webbies regained its set-point opportunity, at 15-14. Greenberg kept Yeshiva alive, by slamming home his 17^th kill of the match, to tie the deciding set at 15 points apiece. That sparked a 3-0 run for the Macs, as a pair of errors by Webb clinched the dramatic come-from-behind victory for Yeshiva.

For the match, junior opposite hitter Mathew Rosenberg and Saka each produced 13 kills, with the former earning an attack percentage of .407, and the latter anchoring the defense with seven digs. Marcus added seven kills of his own, while Zippel had two kills, just as many digs, one block, and one service ace. Senior defensive specialist Eytan Darrison had four service aces, while Greenberg added two. Sophomore middle blocker Ori Guttman had one kill and classmate Chaim Aryeh Rubin scored one ace.

Yeshiva will be back in action on Sunday, for a Skyline Conference Tri-Match at the Sage Colleges. The Maccabees will take on the host Gators at 11:00 A.M., and then take on the Bears of St. Joseph's College Brooklyn at 1:00 p.m.