NEW YORK | Sophomore Felix Massey's eight kills tied for the match-high Thursday night at Max Stern Athletic Center, as the Sarah Lawrence College men's volleyball team fell at Yeshiva University by a 3-0 decision (25-20, 25-11, 25-17) in the Skyline Conference opener for both sides.

Sophomore Aaron Ashery added five kills for the Gryphons, while senior Ithai Diakov filled the stat sheet with nine assists, six digs and two service aces.

The teams swapped the lead throughout set number one, with SLC taking an 18-17 edge on a kill by first-year Desmond Luck. Both squads earned one side out apiece, before the host Maccabees used an 7-1 run to take a one-set lead in the match.

After taking a 3-1 lead early in set two off a kill by Massey, Sarah Lawrence fell victim to a pair of YU runs that saw the host side 7-3 and 13-4 before locking up the 2-0 edge.

Diakov's three-consecutive strong serves in set three resulted in a pair of service aces and pulled the visitors to within an 18-15 count, which was as close as SLC was able to get in the final frame.

Head coach Sovanny Ebbesen's Gryphons are back in action Sunday afternoon (Feb. 23), when they travel to Brooklyn, N.Y., for a tri-match with host Pratt Institute and King's (Pa.) at 12 and 2 p.m., respectively.