WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Yeshiva University men's volleyball team dropped two matches in the King's College Tri-Match, at McGrane Gymnasium, on Sunday afternoon. The Maccabees fell to the host Monarchs in straight sets and then lost to the Beavers of City College, 3-0.

In the opening match against King's (9-3), set scores were 25-6, 25-12, and 25-13. Senior middle blocker Yosef Ajami got YU off to a good start with back-to-back kills to give the Maccabees (1-2) an early 4-3 lead in the opening set. However, the Monarchs pulled away with a 22-2 run to claim the first set. Yeshiva got off to another good start in the second game, as three kills by junior outside hitter Jonathan Apsan and a pair of successful attacks by third-year outside hitter Joseph Sulaymanov propelled Yeshiva to an early 9-7 advantage. However, King's College once again responded with a big run, this time outscoring Yeshiva by an 18-3 margin the rest of the frame, to win the stanza and put Yeshiva on the brink. The Monarchs never trailed in the third set on their way to the sweep.

For the match, junior middle blocker Eliyahou Benhamou tallied six kills, while Apsan added five kills of his own. Sophomore setter Benjamin Goldstein had a team-high 10 assists to go along with four digs. Graduate libero Sibi Selvarajah anchored the defense with five digs.

In the match against CCNY (8-2), set scores were 25-11, 25-16, and 25-14. City College never trailed during the opening game. In the second set, a kill by Benhamou and a service ace by Sulaymanov gave Yeshiva an early 2-0 advantage. However, the Beavers scored six unanswered points to take the lead for good (6-2) on their way to another set-victory. In the third set, Ajami slammed home a kill and scored a service ace to highlight a 3-0 run by YU to even the game at seven points apiece. CCNY responded by taking the lead for good, and gradually increasing it, to win the stanza and the match.

For the Maccabees, Selvarajah led all players with 10 digs. Sulaymanov added three kills and seven digs, while Goldstein had 11 assists and four digs. Apsan slammed home four kills, while junior opposite hitter Derek Orenshein chipped in with a pair of kills and four digs. Benhamou registered a team-high five kills. Ajami had three blocks. 

Yeshiva will travel to the Bronx on Wednesday evening, for a non-conference match at Lehman College. First serve at the APEX Main Gym is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.