The New York University men's volleyball team opens its regular-season on the road this weekend at the Rutgers-Newark Golden Dome Classic in Newark, NJ. The Violets will face off against host Rutgers-Newark University on Friday, January 20, at 7:30pm.
NJIT and Hunter College play in the 5:30pm opener on Friday before the 7:30pm showdown between Rutgers-Newark and NYU. The Violets will battle Hunter at 5:30pm on Saturday before rivals NJIT and Rutgers-Newark complete the event at 7:30pm.
The Violets are hoping to build on their success from last year. The team is in good position to do so, considering they are ranked #4 in the preseason American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 15 Division III Poll.
NYU only graduated one major contributor from last year's team.
Fran Hodgson led the team in blocks (112) and finished fourth in kills (250). Head coach
Jose Pina, however, is confident in the team's ability to replace his output.
“We expect
Pat Dodd and
Nick Capriccio to step it up and replace, or surpass, the production provided last past season by Fran,” Pina said.
Dodd is coming off a terrific season in which he finished first on the team and 17th in the
NCAA in service aces (40). He also ranked second on the team in kills (265), recording 13 double-digit kill matches. Middle blocker Capriccio is coming off a stellar freshman campaign in which he started 27 matches, finished second on the team in blocks (82) and third in kills (253).
This year, Pina is leading his team into a new conference. The Violets have left the EIVA and are now an official member of the UVC (United Volleyball Conference), which will provide stiff competitors such as the reigning NCAA Division III National Champion Nazareth Golden Flyers.
“We are very excited about joining the UVC,” said Pina. “From top to bottom, it's probably the most competitive men's volleyball conference in all of Division III.”
The team faces its first UVC test against SUNY-Institute of Technology in their home opener at the Jerome S. Coles Sports Center, on Saturday, February 4.
Check back to
www.gonyuatletics.com all season long for stats, analysis and post-game summaries.
