Men's Volleyball Snaps Five-Match Skid With Win Over Stevens

Violets Nab Their Second Win of 2010 with 3-1 Victory

Junior captain Fran Hodgson put down 13 kills and added four blocks in the win over Stevens.

The New York University men's volleyball team avenged its home-opening loss by defeating the Stevens Institute of Technology in four sets on Wednesday, Feb. 24, at the Canavan Arena in Hoboken, NJ.

The Violets (2-8), currently ranked #11 in the AVCA Division III Men's Coaches Top 15 Poll, snapped a season-long five match losing streak by overpowering the Ducks (8-8) on offense, out-killing them 51 – 42 while also holding an 11-4 advantage on service aces. NYU took the match 3-1 (30-26, 22-30, 30-18, 31-29).

“It was a really tough match between two teams that have been struggling recently,” commented head coach Jose Pina. “But in the end we were able to out-hit and out-serve them and pull out the win.”

Leading the Violets on offense was junior captain Fran Hodgson, who tallied a season-high 13 kills while hitting .500 with four blocks and a team-best three service aces.

Also in double-digits on offense was sophomore Pat Dodd. He also put down 13 kills while adding two service aces and four blocks, including a solo.

On defense, freshman Cooper Gwaltney and sophomore captain Jay Hayes both put up a team-high 10 digs while Gwaltney also added eight kills and a service ace.

For the Ducks, Jonathan Landis led all players with 17 kills, while Aaron Ostrovsky put up 14 digs.

The Violets return to action on Saturday, Feb. 27, when they host top-ranked and Division III rival Juniata College. First serve is set for 4:00 pm.