NEW YORK – After being picked third in the CUNY Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) Preseason Poll on Friday, the City College of New York men's volleyball team opened its 2020 campaign with a pair of matches at Nat Holman Gymnasium on Saturday.  And the Beavers got their season started in the best way possible—by picking up two wins.  CCNY (2-0) defeated Colby-Sawyer (0-2) by a 25-14, 25-17, 25-22 count before topping Neumann (1-1) 25-21, 18-25, 25-21, 25-15.

CCNY led from the start against Colby-Sawyer.  The Beavers scored seven of the first 10 points, then used a 14-4 run to open up a 23-9 advantage.  CCNY hit a combined .379 (15 kills, four errors, 29 attempts) in the first set and cruised to a 25-14 win.

In the second set, the Beavers jumped out to a 4-0 lead before the Chargers rallied to tie the score at 6-6.  CCNY scored the next three points to go back in front 9-6, but Colby-Sawyer again pulled within one at 12-11.  However, the Beavers responded with a 12-5 spurt to reach set point, and a Carlos Maldonado Madrid (Honduras) kill finished off the frame, 25-17.

Colby-Sawyer was the team that got out to the early cushion in the third set.  The Chargers opened up a 5-1 advantage before extending their lead to 12-6.  However, after a CCNY timeout, Maldonado Madrid ripped a kill to spark a 7-2 run that brought the Beavers within one, 14-13.  After Colby-Sawyer regained a four-point edge at 21-17, CCNY rattled off seven straight points to go up 24-21.  On the Beavers' second match point, Maldonado Madrid slammed a kill to close out the set, 25-22, and the 3-0 victory.

Vukasin Bozic (Sunnyside, NY) had an outstanding start to his collegiate career, posting 18 kills on .333 hitting while also notching eight digs.  Maldonado Madrid finished with 13 kills on .310 hitting to go along with three service aces, while Andrew Chan (Flushing, NY) tallied 40 assists and seven digs.  Jonathan Liao (Jackson Heights, NY) was credited with a match-high 21 digs, as the Beavers outdug the Chargers 53-39.  As a team, CCNY hit a combined .257 (44-17-105).

Giovani Dos Reis led Colby-Sawyer with seven kills, and he hit .316.  AJ Gnieski, meanwhile, distributed 18 assists and added seven digs.  Orlando Plagata registered a team-high 11 digs for the Chargers, who hit .075 (21-14-93) as a team.

There were 14 ties and eight lead changes in the first set of CCNY's matchup with Neumann.  Neither team was able to create a separation greater than three points until late in the set, when the Beavers used a 6-1 run to turn a 20-18 deficit into a 24-21 advantage.  Maldonado Madrid served an ace on set point, as CCNY took the frame by a 25-21 count.

It was more of the same early in a second set that featured seven ties and three lead changes.  CCNY led 14-12 midway through the period when Neumann went on an 8-2 run to pull ahead 20-16.  The Knights' Nick Shortlidge closed out the set with back-to-back aces, as Neumann's 25-18 win evened the match at 1-1.

On the strength of three consecutive Thomas McConnell aces, Neumann raced out to a 7-3 lead in the third set.  The Knights were still in front, 11-7, when Bozic smashed a kill to start a 5-2 run that brought CCNY within one, 13-12.  Neumann pushed its advantage back to three points at 16-13, but the Beavers responded with a 6-1 spurt to go ahead 19-17.  A kill by Abdullah Khalid (Hicksville, NY) wrapped up the 25-21 set win that gave CCNY a 2-1 lead in the match.

A pair of aces by Maldonado Madrid gave CCNY a 6-4 lead in the fourth set, but Neumann scored the next three points to pull in front, 7-6.  Elijah Parks (Long Beach, NY) ripped a kill to tie it at 7-7, though, and Bozic followed with two kills of his own to make it 9-7.  After the Knights leveled the score once more at 9-9, the Beavers scored 15 of the next 20 points to go up 24-14.  CCNY clinched the match (and an Opening Day sweep) with a 25-15 fourth-set victory.

Bozic recorded 18 kills and eight digs for the second time on the day.  He also registered three blocks.  Parks contributed 13 kills on .357 hitting, while Khalid tallied six kills without an error in 14 swings for a .429 hitting percentage.  Maldonado Madrid, meanwhile, posted eight kills, 16 digs and three aces.  Chan distributed 44 assists, and Liao collected 13 digs.  CCNY outdug Neumann 58-47 and hit .169 (49-27-130) as a team.

Jules Maiorano had a double-double for Neumann with 25 assists and 10 digs.  Connor Kolek paced the Knights with nine kills and 12 digs, while Ryan Bollinger also collected 12 digs.  McConnell finished with eight kills and four aces, and Shortlidge served three aces for Neumann.  As a team, the Knights hit a combined .087 (32-22-115).

The Beavers return to action next Saturday with another tri-match.  CCNY takes on Purchase (0-0) at 1 p.m. before meeting host Wilkes (0-0) at 3 p.m.