BRONX, N.Y. – The Yeshiva University men's volleyball team suffered a heartbreaking non-conference loss to Lehman College, in five sets, at the APEX Main Gym on Wednesday evening. Set scores were 25-22, 24-26, 24-26, 27-25, and 15-13.

The Maccabees were up 2-1 in the match, and had a 23-17 lead in the fourth game, but Lehman came all the way back to win the set and was victorious in the rubber game to earn the match-victory.

For the Macs, junior opposite hitter Derek Orenshein led the way with 10 kills and just as many digs. He added three service aces and two blocks. Junior outside hitter Joseph Sulaymanov produced nine kills, scored six aces, and had a strong game defensively with 14 digs. Senior middle blocker Yosef Ajami just missed a double-double with nine kills and 10 digs. First-year middle blocker Amitai Kolom had 11 kills, two service aces, and just as many blocks. Sophomore setter Benjamin Goldstein generated 29 assists and 17 digs, both career-highs, while graduate libero Sibi Selvarajah anchored the defense with 17 digs of his own.

Yeshiva got off to a slow start, falling behind 18-10 in the opening set. Junior outside hitter Jonathan Apsan slammed home two kills to highlight a 7-2 run that pulled YU to within three, at 20-17. Later in the set, Orenshein executed two successful attacks of his own to spark a 4-0 by the Maccabees to narrow the Lightning's lead to 23-22. However, Lehman scored the last two points to win the opening game, 25-22.

Both teams exchanged runs in the second game, leading to a 20-20 tie. Back-to-back kills by the Lightning put the Maccabees in a 22-20 hole. Thanks to back-to-back kills by Sulaymanov and Kolom, and a service ace by sophomore middle blocker Steven Zelmanovich, Yeshiva jumped out in front by a score of 23-22. Lehman scored two of the next three points to tie the game at 24 points apiece, but Sulaymanov closed out the set with a kill and a service ace to lift Yeshiva to a set-victory and even the match at one frame apiece.

The Maccabees fell behind, 18-14, in the third game. Yeshiva would respond as a service ace by Orenshein and a kill by sophomore middle blocker Ariel Rivkin highlighted a 5-1 run that tied the match, 19-19. With YU down 23-22, Orenshein and Sulaymanov combined for back-to-to back kills to give Yeshiva a set-point opportunity. After Lehman tied it up at 24, Yeshiva took advantage of two attack errors from its opponent to clinch the set and take a 2-1 lead in the match.

In the fourth stanza, two kills by Kolom highlighted a 9-2 run that gave Yeshiva a commanding 21-13 lead. Lehman scored four of the next five points to pull to within five. Sulaymanov slammed the ball through Lehman's defense to give YU a 23-17 advantage. With their backs against the wall, the Lightning generated six straight points to tie the game at 23. Yeshiva was able to gain a match-point opportunity, but the Lightning scored four of the next five points to earn the come-from-behind set-victory and even the match at two games apiece.

In the deciding stanza, back-to-back kills by Kolom and Orenshein gave the Macs a 4-2 advantage. Lehman responded with a 6-1 run to go up, 8-5. Later in the set, Orenshein's kill sparked a 3-0 run for the Maccabees that evened the set at nine points apiece. After YU fell behind again, Kolom added a kill of his own to tie the match at 11. The Lightning countered with a 4-2 run to clinch the deciding game, 15-13, and hand Yeshiva a gut-wrenching loss.

For Lehman, junior middle blocker Peter Veljovic led all players with 12 kills and 23 digs, while adding four assists.

Yeshiva will host Sarah Lawrence College, in its home opener and first Skyline contest of the year, at the Max Stern Athletic Center on Thursday evening. First serve is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.