Lakers Split Final Day of Monroe College Invitational

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - The Finger Lakes Community College men's volleyball team concluded their final day at the Monroe College Invitiational on Saturday, February 4th at the Monroe Athletic Complex.

The Lakers would conclude the tournament with two highly-anticipated matchups with the Passaic County Panthers and the Monroe College Mustangs after a 2-0 start to the season.

Lakers vs. Passaic County

The Lakers would extend their undefeated set streak with a 3-0 sweep over the Panthers to start day two. Leading the Lakers on the attack were teammates Jonah Grbic (Victor, N.Y./ Victor) and Bryce Ceravolo (Canandaigua, N.Y./ Canandaigua Academy) with 11 and 5 kills respectively. Ceravalo would add 6 assists, 5 aces, and 2 digs to an impressive 10 point performance against the Panthers.

Leading the Lakers in assists was teammate Ian Meeks (Victor, N.Y./ Victor) who would finish with 15. Meeks would go on to tally 4 kills, 2 aces, and 2 digs; good for 6 points. The Lakers would build momentum in a dominate first set victory. A slow start saw the Lakers only lead by 3 early on with a 9-6 advantage, but, the Lakers would go on to win 10 of the next 13 points to grow their lead, 19-9. The team would go on to finish the set with a 25-11 victory over the Panthers.

From there on, the Lakers would find similar results, taking the next two sets, 25-14 and 25-12.

Lakers vs. Monroe College

The Mustangs would enter the matchup a perfect 5-0, having not lost a set on the early-season. The Lakers, sitting at 3-0 would battle for bragging rights over the Mustangs on their home court. The match would live up to the hype, starting out as a back and forth affair. The Mustangs would jump out to a early lead of 5-10, before the Lakers would battle back and tie the match at 13 apeice. 2 kills from freshman Nick Ferris (Canandaigua, N.Y./ Canandaigua Academy) and a pair of mistakes form the mustangs would put the Lakers back in the game. 

Freshman Daniel Seymour (Bellmore, N.Y./ John F. Kennedy) would come up big down the stretch with a kill and block, to give the Lakers an edge late in the set. A Jonah Grbic kill and a ball handling error by the Mustangs would allow the Lakers to jump out a 1-0 start with a 26-24 final in set one.

The Lakers would carry their momentum into set two, jumping out an early 11-6 advantage. The team would carry that advantage late into the set, leading by 18-15. However, following a Mustangs timeouts, the team would go on to score 6 of the next 7 points and would take a 22-20 advantage over the Lakers. The Mustangs would finish the job in set two, scoring 3 of the last four points in another close set, this time in favor of the opposition, 27-25.

The Mustangs would go on to take the final two sets 25-17 and 25-20. Sophomore Jonah Grbic would lead the Lakers with 14 kills, 1 assists, 3 aces, 11 digs, and 4 block assists in a dominant effort. The sophomore would end the afternoon with a team high 19.5 points. Freshman Daniel Seymour would earn the start, adding 5 kills, 3 digs, 2 block solos, and 7 block assists; good for 10.5 points.

Freshman Nick Ferris would play all four sets of the match, ending the game with 13 kills, 2 digs, and a block assist. Other contributors for the Lakers were AJ DeBalso (Canandaigua, N.Y./ Canandaigua Academy) with 1 kill,  assist, an ace, and 7 digs, and Samuel Guardado (San Salvador, El Salvador / Josue Christian) with 2 kills, 1 assist, 1 ace, 11 digs, and a block.

The most competitve match of the early-season set the tone for what will be an exciting rematch between the two programs next Saturday, February 11th; the Lakers home opener. 

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