The Envoy

Men’s volleyball secured back-to-back wins as Baruch closed in on Hunter’s Commissioners Cup score.

Similar to last year, Hunter’s big fall lead diminished over the winter period. As of now, Hunter sits just one point ahead of Baruch in the Commissioners Cup. The schools are joint favorites in men’s volleyball, so each game has become even more anticipated.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

Coming off a victory against City College in their first CUNYAC match, men’s volleyball had four matches against CUNY opponents over a five day span this last week. 

The Hawks brushed aside their tough scheduling, as they won every match three sets to zero. After their last victory against Lehman College, Hunter’s record sat at a massive 15 sets to zero in conference.

The impressive showings secured Hunter a weekly award sweep. Sophomore middle blocker Matisse Lee-Maarek won CUNYAC Player of the Week and freshman outside hitter Kyle Foley won CUNYAC Rookie of the Week on Mar. 4. 

Lee-Maarek hit .481 with 22 kills through the week. Foley hit .426 with 38 kills over the same four games.

Against Brooklyn, Lehman, and York, the Hawks held their opposition to 17 or below in every set they played. 

The Hawk’s match against John Jay provided them with the biggest challenge yet. John Jay were previously undefeated in the conference, and sat tied with Baruch College atop the table. The sets finished with scores of 25-21, 25-21, and 25-23. However, the three-zero set score in favor of Hunter spoke to the resilience of the team. 

These big wins set Hunter up for an exciting clash against their Lexington Avenue rivals Baruch. Also currently undefeated, Baruch won the CUNYAC championship last year, beating the Hawks three sets to one in the Hunter Sportsplex even though Hunter came into the game as the higher seed. 

This victory was the third consecutive men’s volleyball championship for Baruch, and the Hawks will no doubt savor the opportunity to knock them off their perch this coming week.

GUEST OF THE WEEK: KYLE FOLEY

David Horn was joined this week on the WHCS radio by Foley. The freshman has had a unique path to Hunter. With only three percent of students at Hunter coming from out of state, Foley made the long commute to Lexington Avenue from Santa Barbara, California.

 When describing his decision to join Hunter, Foley said it was an opportunity “that would be dumb not to take.”

Foley was especially enamored by Hunter’s low cost with the quality of education and the strength of the volleyball program. When Coach Chris Schortgen recruited him cross-country, Foley was sold.

Although he says the level of volleyball in California is higher on average, Foley said, “people are much nicer here.” He says he plays recreationally at Central Park and Pier 6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park as much as he can.

After going a perfect 15 for 15 against CUNYAC opposition so far, Foley spoke of his anticipation of his first game against rivals Baruch.

“It’s going to be a tough game but I’m excited for it,” Foley said. “They’re pretty evenly matched with us. They have a couple D1 transfers and we have a couple D1 transfers.”

“It’ll come down to who plays a cleaner game.” 

MEN’S WRESTLING 

The wrestling season ended with NCAA regionals on Mar. 2 and Mar. 3. Freshman Botensky Bazuile made the trip up to Worcester and competed against the best wrestlers on the East Coast at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

After a very solid season, which saw Bazuile win 14 and lose 15 matches, he told David Horn on WHCS Radio that his goal at regionals was to win the entire event.

He ended up having two wins and two losses and bowed out earlier than he would have liked, But despite missing the regional title, the freshman was considered the standout athlete for Hunter wrestling this year and will have many more opportunities to achieve that dream.

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD

Thirteen Hawks received all-star honors following the CUNYAC indoor track and field championships.

Sophomore Daria Niebrzydowski won the CUNYAC Women’s Field Athlete of the Year Award. Her mark of 1.52 meters in the high jump was first in the conference, and her mark of 9.85 meters in the triple jump was second. Her gold in the high jump and silver in the long jump were considered crucial to Hunter’s success this season.

Niebrzydowski, Lily McAndrews, Touka Medjoubi, Samantha Suriel, Ashley Taylor, Irving Jiang, Wendy Montiel, and Karina Tan were also honored as all stars for Hunter’s female athletes.

Brian Guillermo, Mateo Penafiel, Alexander Niyazov, Conor Sullivan, and Jonathan Cauchi were the all-stars for Hunter’s male athletes. 

Montiel and Guillermo were also included in the CUNYAC all-sportsmanship team. The details of the championship can be found in the Feb. 23 edition of our Hawks Athletics Recap.

LOOKING AHEAD

Next week, the softball season starts for the Hawks with a double header against Stevens Institute of Technology. 

Men’s volleyball will start the week with a game against Rutgers Newark, before their big matchup with Baruch. Back-to-back games against Medgar Evers follow on Mar. 16 to round out the week. 

David Horn will host another edition of Hawk Athletics on the WHCS radio on Friday with more guest appearances from star athletes throughout the week.

“Hawk Athletics” is a sports show hosted by David Horn airing every Friday at 12 p.m on the Where Hunter College Speaks (WHCS) radio station. The Envoy’s Conor Sullivan breaks down Horn’s weekly show and recaps the latest on all things Hunter athletics.