After the Baruch College Bearcats’ dominant win against Purchase College, the men’s volleyball team ended its tough non-conference schedule with its second win of the season, a high note before its CUNY Athletic Conference schedule.

The Bearcats swept their opponents at the Arc Arena in a 25-8, 25-13, 25-17 victory. Baruch hit .632% in the first set alone, while Purchase ended the night hitting .057%.

Jack Centeno and Defeng Han led the team with six kills each. The home team also had 17 aces to Purchase’s three, six hit by Centeno.

For his performance, Centeno was named Rookie of the Week.

The team opened the season at the SUNY Poly Tournament at Utica, N.Y.

On day one, Baruch lost to Mount St. Joseph University (2-1) 20-25, 25-13, 18-25 and 28-30.

Their only win of the tournament came in a sweep against Wells College (0-2), 25-18, 25-18 and 25-14. Stallone Shankar had 20 assists, while Han led the team with 12 kills and four aces.

On the second matchday, the team fell to nationally ranked Wentworth Institute of Technology (4-0), 12-25, 25-22, 8-25, 18-25.

Baruch lost the second match to Elmira College (5-0), 18-25, 25-27 and 19-25.

Following the tournament, Stallone Shanker was awarded Player of the Week after accumulating 66 assists and 14 digs. Centeno was named Rookie of the Week after totaling 29 kills and 24 digs.

Playing at St. Joseph’s College-Long Island (4-1), the Bearcats were swept, 21-25, 24-26 and 19-25. Baruch only hit above .100% in the third set while St. Joseph’s hit .274.

Before their home opener against New York University, Baruch was voted as the preseason favorite to win its second consecutive CUNY Athletic Conference title in the coaches poll.

The Bearcats received 61 points, with six first-place votes in front of Hunter, with 57 points and 2 first-place votes. City College was voted third with 43 points.

Shankar was voted as Preseason Player of the Year.

Baruch then hosted nationally ranked New York University (3-3) at the Arc Arena. The Bearcats were swept, 15-25, 19-25 and 23-25.

The team then headed to Pennsylvania to play in the Knights Classic, hosted by Arcadia University.

Day one included a heartbreaking loss to Alvernia University (4-3, 0-0 Middle Atlantic) in five sets, 30-28, 11-25, 25-22, 16-25 and 9-15.

While the Bearcats hit over .300 in the sets they took, they ended up hitting .180, compared to their opponents’ .306. Centeno led the team with 15 kills, while Shankar led with 27 assists.

Their second match, against Eastern Mennonite University (2-5, 1-0 Continental Volleyball Conference) resulted in another loss, 14-25, 25-19, 16-25 and 21-25.

On day two, Baruch lost the opening match to California Lutheran University (8-5), 26-24, 16-25, 10-25 and 20-25.

The Bearcats secured the first set after coming back from a four-point deficit and won after a kill by Han and an error by the opposing team.

Cal Lutheran took the next three sets decisively, hitting .591 to take the third set. Meanwhile, Baruch struggled with hitting .071 by the end of the match.

The second match against Arcadia University (5-7, 2-0 Middle Atlantic) led to a sweep in close sets, 20-25, 31-33 and 17-25.

Baruch lost the first set after Arcadia scored six straight points late, building a lead the Bearcats didn’t overcome.

The second set was lost, after a sanction on a Baruch coach gave the tournament hosts the set-winning point.

Although the third set was again close at the start, Arcadia settled in and dominated to win the match.

Baruch will play two more non-conference opponents. The matches are against SUNY Poly and host Vassar College, taking place the weekend before the CUNYAC championship tournament.