New York, New York – The BMCC men's volleyball team finished their inaugural 2024 regular season on a high note, fighting back to take three straight games after dropping the first set for a four-set 3-1 victory in Region 15 action at home against Kingsborough Community College on Thursday evening at BMCC Gymnasium. The Panther's second win in their last three matches improved their record to 4-7 (4-4 Region XV), while the Wave dropped to 1-9 (1-7 Region XV).
 
Freshmen Edwin Martinez (Bronx, New York) and Miguel Trejo (Brooklyn, New York) headlined the offensive attack on the evening. Martinez smashed a career and game-high 15 kills, and Trejo posted his first career double-double with a career and game-best 18 assists and handled 11 digs, which was also a career-best. Classmate Chong Lin Li (New York, New York) placed a game-high five service aces.

The Panthers recorded 10 or more service aces for the second time in their last three contests, with four players posting two or more as freshman Emmanuel Lovingood (Queens, New York) had three and classmates Hugo Paz (Mexico City, Mexico) and Martinez had two apiece. The Panthers also recorded 30 or more assists as a team for the second time in three games, with 34 in the contest, which tied for third-most this season. Paz distributed eight assists, while Eugene Villarruz (Queens, New York) and Lin Li handed out four each.
 
Villarruz, Lovingood, and Isah Mohammed (Lagos, Nigeria) led BMCC on defense. Villarruz registered a game-best 16 digs, while Lovingood posted a team-high three total blocks (one solo and two block assists), and Mohammed threw down a team-best two solo blocks.
 
Kingsborough Community College went back and forth in the opening set. The Wave got off to a quick start in set number one, registering three out of the first four points to build their lead to 3-1 before the Panthers scored five of the next six, tying it at three on a bad set by #18 and see the lead get to two, 6-4 on a service error by #12. The Wave roared back with a 6-0 run to get their lead to four, 10-6, courtesy of a Mohammed attack error. BMCC responded with four of the following five points to cut the deficit to one, 11-10, on a Lin Li service ace.
 
The Wave turned it on with seven of the following nine points to get their lead back to four, 17-13, on a smash from the front row by Levan Sulkhanishvili, before the Panthers battled back with five of the following eight points to get within two, 20-18 on a Sulkhanishvili attack error. After Kingsborough got their lead back to four, 24-20, on a Martinez attack error, BMCC would continue to fight with two straight points to cut the deficit down to two, 24-22, on an attack error from Kirill Syroegin before the Wave closed it out with a block from Winson Cai to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
The second set provided the same blow-for-blow script as the first one, with both teams trading the first 12 points before the Panthers scored four straight points, capped off by a Lin Li service ace to take a 10-6 lead. The Wave responded immediately with a 5-1 run to tie it at 11 courtesy of a service ace from Syroegin, then scored three of the next four points to take a 14-12 lead on a Cai service ace. The set would be tied six more times, with the Panthers scoring two straight points to take a 21-19 advantage on a Martinez kill. Then the Wave got the following two to knot it up at 21 apiece on a bad set from Trejo. The Panthers would close it out to even up the match at a game apiece after it was tied at 22, scoring three of the last four points of the set capped off by a Syroegin attack error to win it 25-23.
 
After both teams exchanged the first 18 points of the third set, Kingsborough grabbed an 11-9 lead on a Trejo attack error, then increased their margin to as large as four, 18-14, when Mohammed's attempt from the front row just was outside the backline. The Panthers would rally spectacularly, facing another four-point deficit, 22-18, with a furious 7-0 to end the third set capped off by Jonathan Duarte (Bogota, Columbia) kill and an attack error forced by excellent front row work by him and Lovingood to take a two games to one lead in the match with a 25-22 third set win.
 
BMCC built off that strong finish to the third set with seven straight points to open up the fourth set and 15 consecutive points total, capped off by a kill by Martinez from the front row. The Panthers built their lead to its largest of the set eight, 15-7 on a Lin Li service ace, then the Wave had two more rallies getting within three, 15-12 on a Lin Li attack error, and two, 23-21 on a Martinez attack error before Eddie helped his Panther squad cap off the set with the final of the last two straight points scored with a smash from the front row to give them the match with a 25-21 four set win.
 
Levan Sulkhanishvili led the Kingsborough offense on the evening with a team-high 11 kills. Kirill Syroegin distributed a team-best 13 assists and placed four service aces for another team-high. Winson Cai led the Wave on defense with a team-high 15 digs, while Syroegin buried a game-high five blocks, all five of which were solo in the contest.
 
BMCC will look to build on their momentum to end the regular season as they head to the first-ever 2024 Region XV Men's Volleyball Tournament. The third-seeded Panthers will battle second-seeded Nassau Community College on Saturday, April 6, at 2 p.m. at Monroe Athletic Complex in New Rochelle, New York. For more information, visit the BMCC Men's Volleyball Schedule Page.
 

ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
The athletic program at Borough of Manhattan Community College encompasses a total of 13 varsity teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level. For the latest news on the Panthers, please visit us a https://bmccathletics.com - the official site of BMCC Athletics. Also, become a follower of the Panthers on Instagram (@bmcc_athletics) and Twitter (@BMCCAthletics), and "LIKE" Us on Facebook (BMCC Athletics).