NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Yeshiva University men's volleyball team suffered two hard-fought losses in a Skyline Conference tri-match, held at the Max Stern Athletic Center, on Sunday afternoon. Yeshiva fell to St. Joseph's College Long Island, in straight sets, and then fell to Purchase College, 3-1.

The Maccabees (6-9, 3-4) drop to fourth-place in the Skyline standings, just a half-game ahead of Sarah Lawrence College for the final playoff spot. St. Joseph's Long Island (19-5, 6-0 Skyline) remain in first-place and undefeated in conference contests. Purchase (8-15, 3-3 Skyline) advances to third-place, just behind second-place St. Joseph's College Brooklyn.

In the opening match against the Golden Eagles, set scores were 25-11, 25-14, and 25-18. St. Joseph's never trailed in the opening set. Sophomore middle blocker Eliyahou Benhamou opened the second game with a kill that propelled YU to a 4-0 lead. After the defending Skyline Conference champions rallied to take an 8-7 advantage, graduate outside hitter Adam Gerszberg scored a kill and then an ace to put Yeshiva back in front. However, St. Joseph's finished the game on a 12-2 run to take a 2-0 lead in the match and put YU on the brink. In the third set, Gerszberg produced a kill that gave YU a 6-4 advantage. St. Joseph's answered with a 7-2 run to go up, 13-8. After YU narrowed the margin to 17-16, St. Joseph's finished the set on an 8-2 run to clinch the sweep.

For the Maccabees, Gerszberg led the way with six kills and three digs. Graduate libero Sibi Selvarajah anchored the defense with eight digs, while senior outside hitter Chaim Aryeh Rubin added four kills with three digs. Sophomore setter Isaac Pomerance led the team with 18 assists, while second-year opposite hitter Derek Orenshein had three kills and two assists.

In Yeshiva's match against Purchase, set scores were 25-27, 27-25, 25-21, and 28-26. In the first game, back-to-back kills by Rubin guided Yeshiva to an 11-10 advantage. Later in the game, Rubin slammed home two straight kills, followed by a successful attack from Orenshein, to put YU ahead by a score of 20-17. Before the stanza was complete, Purchase scored five unanswered points to take a 23-22 lead. A kill by Benhamou put YU back in front, 24-23. Down 25-24, Orenshein's kill highlighted a 3-0 Maccabees' run to end the game and put the Macs up, 1-0, in the match.

In the second set, a kill by Pomerance gave the Maccabees a 23-19 hold. It looked as though Yeshiva would win its second set of the contest, but Purchase rallied to pull to within one. Benhamou slammed home a kill to give YU a set-point opportunity. However, the Panthers scored five of the set's last six points to stun the home team and even the match at one set apiece.

In the third game, a service ace by sophomore outside hitter Joseph Sulaymanov capped off a 6-0 run to put the Blue and White up, 13-7. Once again Purchase rallied, this time with an 11-2 run, to go up by a score of 18-15. Down by one, Orenshein slammed the ball inbounds to tie the set up at 19 points apiece. From that point on, it was all Purchase as the Panthers scored six of the last eight points to win the third set and put YU's backs against the wall.

Yeshiva trailed 13-11 in the fourth stanza. Benhamou responded with three consecutive kills to allow the Macs to jump out in front by one. With the Panthers up, 20-18, Benhamou and Orenshein combined for back-to-back successful attacks to cap off three straight points and give YU a 21-20 edge. Purchase went on a mini-run of their own to earn a set-point opportunity, at 24-23. Yeshiva overcame two of PC's match-point chances. A kill by Rubin put the Maccabees up, 26-25, with a chance to even the match and force a rubber set. However, the Panthers scored the last three points to take the fourth set and the key Skyline win.

For the match, Selvarajah led all players with 18 digs. Benhamou had a match-high 18 kills to go along with 11 digs and four blocks. Rubin also had a double-double with 11 kills and 17 digs. Pomerance led all players with 37 assists and chipped in on defense with 14 digs. Orenshein had nine kills, six digs, and two blocks, while Gerszberg had seven kills and five digs. Junior middle blocker Yosef Ajami had four kills, while sophomore outside hitter Jonathan Apsan had a kill and a dig.

Yeshiva will host Mount Saint Vincent, in a Skyline Conference contest at the Max Stern Athletic Center, on Wednesday evening. First serve is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. It's senior night as Yeshiva University will honor its graduating seniors Selvarajah, Amitai Miller, and Rubin with a ceremony prior to the start of the match.