Box Score
The #7 ranked New York University men's volleyball team defeated Medaille College in straight sets at the first United Volleyball Conference (UVC) Crossover of the season on Saturday, February 11, in Hoboken, NJ.
Competing in their first ever UVC Crossover event, the Violets (4-2) dismissed the 10th-ranked Mavericks 26-24, 25-23, 25-20 to improve to 2-0 in the UVC.
NYU trailed Medaille (8-3, 1-1) throughout the first set, and when the deficit reached 24-22 head coach
Jose Pina decided to call a timeout.
“Slow down the pace, refocus and just worry about winning the next point,” Pina told his players.
Not only did the team win the next point, but it won the next four en route to the first-set victory.
The squad found itself in a similar position in the second set. The Violets were down and Pina called for another timeout. This time, instead of just offering advice, he made a crucial substitution. Pina put in
Matthew Coghlan with the hopes of improving the squad's overall ball handling.
“I knew it would be worth sacrificing some offense for more ball control,” said Pina. “Right when I put Matt in, the team really started to pull away.”
Setter
Connor Mortland kept the team calm and managed the tempo of the match on his way to 30 assists. He added seven digs, as did libero
Jay Hayes.
The finesse serving of defensive specialist
Dylan Ramey also kept the Violets afloat. He had multiple streaks of five or more straight points won on his serve.
Nick Capriccio and
Matthew MacDonald led a balanced offensive attack, recording nine kills each.
Matthew MacDonald added five kills, while
Luke Hamlet totaled four.
“We got better as the day went on today,” said Pina. “Now we just need to carry that momentum overnight and get off to a fast start tomorrow.”
For the Mavericks, Nick Johnson led the way with 13 kills.
The Violets are back in action tomorrow, Feb. 12, when they face defending Division III Champion and current #6 Nazareth College at 10:00 am. NYU then finishes off the UVC Crossover at 2:00 pm against fellow conference newcomer Hilbert College.