NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Yeshiva University men's volleyball team earned a thrilling five-set Skyline victory over St. Joseph's College Brooklyn, at the Max Stern Athletic Center, on Tuesday evening. Set scores were 21-25, 25-20, 25-22, 23-25, and 15-13. Yeshiva (5-6, 2-1 Skyline) extends its winning streak to four matches.

"The team came in with a winning mentality and we were hungry for the win," Yeshiva University head coach Dalliana Toussaint said. "They showed heart, fight, and focus throughout the match which was crucial for the win."

Leading the way for the Maccabees was sophomore opposite hitter Derek Orenshein, who had a balanced match with 10 kills, 11 digs, six assists, three blocks, and two service aces. First-year middle blocker Eliyahou Benhamou slammed home a team-high 12 kills on offense and contributed on defense with two digs and just as many blocks. Sophomore setter Isaac Pomerance had a double-double with 30 assists and 17 digs, while adding three kills. Senior outside hitter Chaim Aryeh Rubin had four kills with 10 digs. Graduate libero Sibi Selvarajah anchored the defense with 16 digs and added four assists on the offensive side.

In the opening set, a pair of kills by graduate outside hitter Adam Gerszberg sparked a 4-1 run to put the Maccabees up, 8-5. However, St. Joseph's (1-14, 1-2 Skyline) went on an 8-2 run take a three-point lead. Later in the set, with the match tied at 20 points apiece, St. Joseph's scored four straight points to earn a set-point opportunity. Although Yeshiva got the next point, Orenshein followed with an attack error to give the opening set to the Bears, 25-21.

Yeshiva fell behind, 15-9, in the second stanza. However, Benhamou and Gerszberg combined for back-to-back kills to inch YU closer. After St. Joseph's scored the next point, Yeshiva responded with four unanswered, capped off by a kill from sophomore outside hitter Joseph Sulaymanov to knot it up at 16 points apiece. The Bears countered with three straight points to put the Macs in another hole. With its backs against the wall, Yeshiva stormed to an 8-0 run to earn a set-point opportunity out of nowhere. Sulaymanov provided two successful attacks, while Orenshein nailed two aces, during Yeshiva's late-game rally. SJCB answered with three straight points to stay alive in the set. Yeshiva finally capitalized on its fourth set-point opportunity thanks to a kill from Sulaymanov, to even the match by a score of 1-1.

Yeshiva fell behind early, 9-5, in the third game. Later in the stanza, five consecutive errors by the visiting team gave Yeshiva a 13-11 advantage. The Bears scored five out of the game's next six points to jump back in front, 16-14. Down 18-16, Yeshiva gained the next three points to retake the lead. Junior middle blocker Yosef Ajami produced a pair of kills during YU's 4-0 run to put the home team up, 23-19. Yeshiva went on to win the third game, 25-20, to put St. Joseph's College Brooklyn on the brink.

In the fourth stanza, back-to-back kills by Orenshein and Pomerance sparked a 6-0 run that gave YU a narrow 10-9 advantage. With the match tied, 13-13, St. Joseph's scored four unanswered points to go back on top. Yeshiva answered with a 4-0 run of its own to even up the set. The visiting team went on a 5-1 tear to go up, 23-19. That was the difference as the Bears won a close fourth stanza, 25-23, to even the match and force the fifth and deciding set.

Yeshiva got off to a quick start in the rubber game, jumping out to a 6-3 hold. St. Joseph's scored four of the set's next six points to pull to within one. Ajami's kill propelled Yeshiva to a 10-7 lead before SJCB scored three straight to tie it. With the score knotted, 13-13, Yeshiva took advantage of two errors from the opposing team to clinch the five-set victory and second conference win of the season.

For Yeshiva, Sulaymanov had eight kills to go along with three digs. Gerszberg produced six kills and three digs, while Ajami had six successful attacks and three blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Jonathan Apsan added a kill of his own.

For the Bears, senior outside hitter Tim Driscoll led all players with 21 kills and 19 digs, while scoring three aces. Junior outside hitter Stephen Eddy had seven kills and 18 digs, while senior setter Timothy Boyd produced 12 digs and a match-best 37 assists.

The Maccabees will compete in a Skyline Conference tri-match, out on Long Island, on Sunday. Yeshiva will take on Sarah Lawrence College at 12:00 p.m., and then battle host St. Joseph's College Long Island at 2:00 p.m.