BRONX, N.Y. – Mount Ida College travelled to New York City on Saturday afternoon for a non-conference showdown with Lehman College, but suffered a 3-1 defeat to the Lightning in men's volleyball action at the APEX Main Gym.
The set scores were 25-17, 18-25, 25-14, and 25-23, with the Mustangs taking the second set to level the match before Lehman won the final two frames.
Junior Dennis Miranda (Havana, Cuba) slammed 13 kills and 11 digs to lead the Mustangs, while classmate James Ames (W. Hartford, Conn.) chipped in 12 kills.
Jimmy Wessel (DeKalb, Ill.) posted 27 assists in the match while adding seven digs. He and Ames each served three aces for the Mustangs.
Junior outside hitter Jaleel Lino (Punta Gorda, Belize/Toledo Community College) led the Lightning attack with 14 kills, and added two service aces. Freshman opposite hitter Roberto Ventura Diaz (New York, N.Y./Cardenal Sancha) tallied seven kills and two service aces. Playing in his first collegiate match, freshman Henry Nunez (Bronx, N.Y./Walton) produced three service aces with just as many digs.
In the first set, Lehman (5-2) got off to a sluggish start by falling behind 4-0. After the Mustangs (1-8) took a 5-2 lead, the Lightning turned momentum into their favor by scoring the next five points, highlighted by kills from junior middle blocker Ramon Jimenez (New York, N.Y./George Washington) and freshman opposite hitter Carlos Segura (Bronx, N.Y./Marble Hill), to take a 7-5 lead. With the set tied at nine, Diaz slammed home a kill to put Lehman up by one. The Lightning would not trail again for the remainder of the set, and would go on to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
Mount Ida evened the set at a match apiece by using a 10-1 run in the second set to take a 7-6 lead and turn it into a 17-7 advantage.
The Mustangs took a 5-4 lead early in the third, but Lehman responded by scoring the next six points, highlighted by a kill from Diaz and a service ace from junior opposite hitter Roberto Perez (Bronx, N.Y./Bronx Leadership Academy), to give Lehman a 10-5 advantage. A kill from Lino clinched a third set victory for the home team, putting the Mustangs on the brink.
In the fourth set, Diaz produced back-to-back service aces to give the Lightning a 20-14 lead. The Mustangs were able to rally and shrink Lehman's lead to 24-23, but a service error by the visiting team clinched the match for the Lightning.
Sophomore Peter Griffenkranz (Deer Park, N.Y.) added three kills and eight digs, along with a service ace. Kalyn Smithson (Vilseck, Germany) had the Mustang's only solo block.
Lehman was very balanced on defense as Diaz, senior opposite hitter Miguel Gallardo (Bronx, N.Y./Salesian), freshman setter Emmanuel Ortiz (Bronx, N.Y./Alfred E. Smith), and Perez each produced six digs. Lino added five and freshman libero Jose Bautista (Bronx, N.Y./H.S. of World Cultures) recorded four.
Segura slammed home five kills, while Lino and Jimenez had three block assists each.
Mount Ida returns home for their next two games, starting on Wednesday night when they host MIT at 6:00 pm.
The Lightning will travel to Hunter College on Monday, for the CUNY Athletic Conference Multi-Match. Lehman will battle the City College at 9:00 a.m., then take on the host Hawks at 11:00 a.m.