New York, NY - The University of Mount Saint Vincent's men's volleyball team was back in action on Sunday for a tri-match hosted by Yeshiva University. The Dolphins fell to Manhattanville in their first match of the day, but returned to Riverdale with a 3-1 win over the hosting Maccabees. 

The Dolphins kept up with the Valiants in the first set, establishing an early 10-8 lead and later reclaiming it at 13-11. Senior Olatomiwa Ibitayo and graduate student James Rose helped keep things close, but Manhattanville would go on two separate runs to put the set out of the Dolphins' reach. 

UMSV struggled in the second, putting up just 14 points, but were resilient going into the third set. The Dolphins jumped to an early 6-1 lead with the help of Rose, sophomore Yestro Luciano Jr., and graduate student Felix Paulino. It was a back-and-forth battle, but the Dolphins would unfortunately lose 25-23. 

Rose paced UMSV with 9 kills, two service aces, 2 digs, and a block assist. Paulino finished with 18 assists and 2 digs, while Ibitayo added 5 kills, 2 service aces, and 2 digs. Luciano Jr. chipped in with 3 kills and 2 block assists. 

The Dolphins set the tone early against Yeshiva, taking the first two sets from the Maccabees (25-15 and 25-22). UMSV would drop the third set 25-19, but got the job done with a dominant fourth set. 

The Dolphins held the Maccabees to just 12 points in the final set, with Ibitayo, Rose, Luciano Jr. impressing once again. Junior Sean Schools and freshmen Yi Wang and Miguel Calderon were also major contributors for UMSV, stringing together key plays to close out the set and match. 

Luciano Jr. was the driving force for the Dolphins, finishing with 12 kills, 4 blocks, 4 digs, and 2 service aces. Ibitayo and freshman Terrence Short also stood out, combining for 22 kills and 7 digs. Rose added 9 digs and 6 kills, while Wang had 5 kills and 4 digs. Freshman Ethan Castro led the Dolphins in digs with 11, to go along with 3 kills and 2 service aces. Paulino finished with 43 assists and 9 digs, while senior Carlos Martinez chipped in 8 digs and 6 assists.

The Dolphins will be on their home court in the Sharp Center for their next match on Tuesday, March 25, against Purchase College.