For the second time in as many weeks, the New York University men's volleyball team fell to the Stevens Institute of Technology on Friday, Jan. 23, at the Walker Gymnasium in Hoboken, NJ.

The Violets (0-4), ranked sixth in the Bison/AVCA Division III Top 15 Coaches Poll, fell to the fifth-ranked Ducks (3-0), 3-0, in their first match of the Stevens Institute of Technology Invitational.

NYU came out firing in the first set, taking an 11-5 lead off of eight kills, including three by senior captain Devin Zolnowski.  However, the Ducks quickly rallied, going on an 9-3 run to tie the match at 14.  After the two teams traded points through a 16-16 tie, Stevens took two quick points to open their first two-point lead of the match. 

The Violets rallied and tied the set at 27-27 off of a Ducks' attack error, leading to a Stevens timeout.  However, that would be as close as NYU would come, dropping three of the next four points to fall 30-28.

In the second, NYU could not find its rhythm and fell behind 10-3.  Stevens continued to build its lead to eight at 12-4, at which point head coach Jose Pina pulled his starters in an attempt to quell the onslaught by the Ducks.  The tactic appeared to work, as the Violets brought the score back to 19-16 off of a kill by freshman Ryan Limb.  The Violets continued to battle through the rest of the set, but the Ducks early lead proved to be too large to come back from as NYU fell 30-23.

The third set saw NYU once again take an early lead, jumping out to a five-point advantage at 11-6.  Once again the Ducks rallied, however, tying the set at 15-15 on a service ace.  After an NYU timeout, the Ducks attempted to build a lead, eventually taking a three-point advantage at 18-15. 

The two teams traded points as the Violets attempted to pull closer.  NYU eventually succeeded, tying the score at 28 on a kill by Zolnowski.  Over the next 20 points, Stevens saw seven match points and the Violets had two.  However, neither could capitalize.  

That all changed at 38-38 when Stevens' Thomas Bochicchio put down a kill to give the Ducks a 39-38 lead.  Stevens then put the match away on the next point with a block to take the set 40-38.

Zolnowski led the way on offense for the Violets, putting down 15 kills while adding three digs.

Junior Michael Ferragonio was also in double-digits on offense, notching a career-high 13 kills while hitting a team-high .348 and adding a team-high eight digs.

Limb was strong at the net for NYU, putting down five kills while adding a career-best (and team-high) six blocks.

For the Ducks, Bochicchio led the way with 17 kills, while sophomore setter Brandt Grobeis recorded 49 assists and a team-high nine digs.

The Violets return to action tomorrow afternoon when they face Hunter College and Nazareth College back-to-back at the Stevens Invitational.  Match times are set for 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm, respectively.