NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Yeshiva University men's volleyball team won its second consecutive Skyline contest on Wednesday evening, defeating St. Joseph's College Brooklyn by a score of 3-1, at the Max Stern Athletic Center. Set scores were 25-19, 27-25, 23-25, and 25-21. YU maintains its grip on the fourth and final playoff spot in the conference standings, as the Maccabees are on a quest to clinch a spot in the Skyline championships for the first time since the 2010 season.

Junior outside hitter Chaim Aryeh Rubin just missed a double-double for the match with 13 kills and nine digs, while sophomore opposite hitter Derek Orenshein had a team-high 14 kills with seven digs. Freshman setter Isaac Pomerance led all players with 36 assists.

Yeshiva (3-10, 2-4 Skyline) started off the opening set strong, as back-to-back kills by Orenshein gave the Macs a 5-0 advantage. After the Bears (0-12, 0-3 Skyline) cut Yeshiva's lead to 13-10, sophomore middle blocker Yosef Ajami slammed home back-to-back kills to put the home team up by five. Later in the game, Rubin's kill capped off three unanswered points by Yeshiva to increase its lead to 23-17. The Maccabees went on to win the first set, 25-19, and take a 1-0 lead in the match.

In the second stanza, St. Joseph's Brooklyn jumped out an 11-5 lead. Yeshiva would answer with four straight points, capped off by a kill from Rubin. The Bears would recover and build a 20-15 advantage. The Maccabees scored six of the set's next eight points to pull to within one. After St. Joseph's extended its lead to two, Orenshein successfully attacked with a kill to propel YU to three straight points and a 24-23 lead. However, it took Yeshiva's third set-point opportunity as Rubin came through with a kill to win the set, 27-25, and extend the Macs' lead in the match, 2-0.

The Maccabees had the edge, 20-15, in the third set and were on the verge of winning the match. However, the Bears closed the stanza with a 10-3 run to stun the Macs and stay alive by winning the third game, 25-23.

The Maccabees never trailed in the fourth game. Rubin scored a service ace for Yeshiva's third consecutive point, putting the home team up by a score of 16-10. Later in the contest, Orenshein came through with a kill to make it 21-16 in favor of YU. After St. Joseph's rallied to pull to within three, at 24-21, freshman outside hitter Jonathan Apsan clinched the important Skyline win by slamming home a kill.

For the evening, Ajami led the way on defense with a match-high 14 digs, to go along with four kills, while Apsan had six kills with four digs. Pomerance had three kills and contributed on defense with six digs. Freshman outside hitter Joseph Sulaymanov produced three kills, five digs, and two service aces, while freshman libero Ariel Boutehsaz anchored the defense with five digs. Junior outside hitter Amitai Miller produced six digs of his own.

Yeshiva will head to Purchase College for a Skyline Conference tri-match on Sunday. The Maccabees will play the host Panthers at 12:00 p.m., and then the Dolphins of Mount Saint Vincent at 2:00 p.m.