BRYN ATHYN, Pa. – The Yeshiva University men's volleyball team earned a hard-fought victory over Bryn Athyn College, 3-1, at Asplundh Field House on Sunday afternoon. Set scores were 21-25, 25-19, 25-21, and 25-22.

Yeshiva's Leaders: Leading the way for the Maccabees (1-1) was senior outside hitter Amitai Kolom who produced a double-double with 12 kills and 14 digs, the latter being a match high, while producing an attack percentage of .300 and scoring a service ace. Rookie middle blocker Lavi Friedman also played a key role in the Macs' attack by slamming home six kills. The Suffern native also scored two aces and had a dig. First-year setter Eli Waxman generated three kills, 19 assists, eight digs, and a pair of service aces. Senior outside hitter Benjamin Smillie nailed three kills, anchored the defense with 13 digs, registered two blocks, scored a pair of service aces, and had just as many assists.

"It's a good win for the team," Yeshiva University Head Coach Dennis Mente said. "We started slow but managed to step up on our defense."

How it Happened: After Bryn Athyn (1-4) won the opening frame, Kolom got the Maccabees going in the second set by tallying four early kills to spark Yeshiva to a 12-5 advantage. Later in the stanza, the Lions went on a 7-1 run to cut YU's lead to 17-16. Friedman and Kolom helped Yeshiva recover by registering back-to-back kills to give the Macs more breathing room. After the home team scored the next point, Yeshiva finished the stanza on a 6-2 run, capped off by a kill from Kolom to allow the Macs to even the match at one game apiece.

Yeshiva fell behind, 11-5, in the third stanza. However, a service ace courtesy of Kolom and a kill by Waxman propelled YU to six unanswered points to tie it up. After Bryn Athyn went back in front, 14-12, a kill by Friedman and a service ace from both Waxman and Smillie sparked a 7-1 run by the Blue and White to put them ahead, 19-15. The Lions rallied and shrunk the Macs' advantage to 22-21, but Yeshiva closed out the set with three straight points to claim the third stanza and take a 2-1 lead in the match.

The Maccabees once again got off to a slow start in the fourth set, falling behind by a score of 10-3. Then, Yeshiva began to chip away as a pair of kills and a service ace from Smillie sparked a 9-5 run by YU to shrink the opposition's lead to 15-12. The Lions then managed to build their advantage back up to 19-14.

However, Yeshiva completely took over the match from that point as back-to-back kills by Kolom and Smillie sparked a 9-0 run by the Maccabees to catapult them into the lead, 23-19. After each team scored a point, YU earned a set-point opportunity. The Lions scored the next two points to stay alive in the match, but then they committed an attack error to clinch the game and the first match-victory of the season for the Maccabees.

Also, Chipping in for Yeshiva: Graduate libero Michael Stark tallied seven digs and a kill for YU. Senior middle blocker Eliezer Benjamin produced three kills, four blocks, and three digs. Junior middle blocker Akiva Kamornick added two digs of his own.

For Bryn Athyn: Junior outside hitter Teagen Dewees slammed home 14 kills, provided 13 digs, and added six service aces. Senior middle blocker Cevin Spencer had a near double-double with nine kills and 13 digs. Sophomore right side hitter Reid Schroeder provided 10 digs of his own.

Up Next: Yeshiva will host SUNY Old Westbury, in a doubleheader at Max Stern Athletic Center, next Sunday. First serve is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.