2/20/2006 - (New York, NY) – Senior Russell Butts (Long Beach, NY/Long Beach HS) notched a double-double with 10 kills and 13 total blocks, and freshman T.J. Pufahl (Bethpage, NY/Bethpage HS) had an outstanding match with 11 kills, 11 digs, and a team-high .391 attack percentage, but the Mount Saint Vincent Men’s Volleyball team lost a 3-1 battle with CUNY powerhouse Baruch during a match played at Baruch College. With the loss, Mount Saint Vincent falls to 5-9, but the Mount’s fine play overall were encouraging against one of the hottest teams in the NECVA.

The Dolphins won the opening game, 30-13, but dropped the next three, 17-30, 14-30, and 20-30. Mount Saint Vincent hit the ball cleanly the entire night, amassing 42 kills against only 25 errors, but Baruch’s powerful attack was simply better. The Bearcats had less attacks than the Mount and committed the same number of errors, but Baruch compiled 57 total kills, and had a .258 attack percentage compared to the Mount’s .125.

Butts led a dominating Dolphin effort at the net as the Mount out-blocked Baruch 21.5 - 4. Butts was fantastic at the net, as were Arnold Ross (Wilton, ME/Mount Blue HS) and Dan Williams (Brick Township, NJ/St. Rose), who combined to add 10 total blocks to their 13 combined kills. Williams also had a team-high 15 digs.

Mount Saint Vincent now enters a difficult stretch where their next three matches are against teams ranked in the nation’s top-15. The run begins on Friday, Feb. 24 when the Mount hosts Nazareth College at 7:00 p.m.