In tonight's final Tear It Up! of the 2010-11 academic year, the second-ranked New York University men's volleyball team will be playing with a trip to the postseason at stake.

A Violet victory over Harvard University, combined with a Sacred Heart University loss to Juniata College, would send NYU to its first Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) Tournament appearance since 2008, when the squad reached the semifinals.

The Violets enter the match, which begins at 7:00 pm, in third place in the EIVA Hay Division. The top two finishers in the EIVA Hay earn berths to the EIVA Tournament, and Juniata College has already wrapped up the top spot in the standings (the other playoff berths go to the top five finishers in the Tait Division).

The final playoff spot will go to either NYU, which is currently 4-3 in the EIVA Hay Division, or Sacred Heart, which is 5-2. While Sacred Heart is a match ahead and is in a “win and in” situation, the Pioneers will have to face first-place Juniata, which is a perfect 7-0 in the EIVA Hay and swept Sacred Heart in the teams' first meeting this year.

The Violets, meanwhile, are in a must-win situation against last-place Harvard (0-5 in the Hay), as a loss would eliminate the squad from playoff contention. However, if the standings hold up and NYU wins and Sacred Heart loses, the Violets would earn the playoff berth by virtue of their five sets to three advantage over the Pioneers in head-to-head play this season (NYU beat Sacred Heart 3-0, while Sacred Heart beat NYU 3-2).

In their first meeting with the Crimson this year, the Violets earned a 3-1 victory in Cambridge (25-18, 22-25, 25-15, 25-20).

Whichever squad earns the playoff berth will travel to Fairfax, VA, on Saturday, April 23, to face second-seeded George Mason University in the quarterfinals (the top seed earns a bye).

All NYU students in attendance at the Tear It Up! match against Harvard will receive a free t-shirt and free food. The event starts at 6:45 pm at Coles Sports Center.

If you can't make it to the match, there will be live stats and live video.