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With the United Volleyball Conference (UVC) regular-season title on the line, the sixth-ranked New York University men's volleyball team pulled out a five-set thriller over fifth-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology on Wednesday, March 21, at the Coles Sports Center in Manhattan.
 
The Violets (18-6, 10-0) clinched the UVC regular-season title and earned the right to host the UVC Championship tournament in a back-and-forth match befitting two of the top teams in the nation. NYU trailed Stevens (19-5, 9-2) 8-4 in the fifth set before fighting all the way back and earning a 15-13 victory in the decisive game. The rest of the match was just as tight, with the Violets ultimately winning 26-24, 34-32, 20-25, 19-25, 15-13.
 
“I thought this match was going to be a battle, and it was as tough as I thought it would be,” said NYU head coach Jose Pina. “The scores of the first two games [26-24, 34-32] were indicative of what we had to do to win. They're a really good team, but we were able to pull it out in the end.”
 
Taylor Fauntleroy, Pat Dodd and Matthew MacDonald were all key in leading the Violets' fifth-set comeback. NYU was down 8-4 before winning seven of the next eight points to take an 11-9 lead. Dodd had four kills in that stretch, while MacDonald's strong serving helped win three of those points.
 
Stevens pulled to within 11-10 on a MacDonald service error, but Dodd responded with a kill and a service ace to make it 13-10. Fauntleroy then sealed the match, putting down kills for each of the Violets' final two points. For the set, Fauntleroy and Dodd combined for 11 kills and just two errors.
 
“MacDonald had a wonderful serving run at the end – he put them in trouble the whole time he was back there,” commented Pina. “And our Pat and Taylor were tremendous. It was great for the guys to go out and win this match.”
 
NYU required late rallies to win the first and second sets, as well. The squad trailed 23-21 in the opening game before Dodd and MacDonald helped tie the score at 24-24 with kills. Dodd and Nick Capriccio then combined for a huge block, and the Violets captured the set on a Stevens attack error.
 
NYU then faced set point an astonishing eight times in the second set, beginning at 24-21. The Violets rattled off four straight points to earn set point of their own at 25-24, but neither side could put the other way until back-to-back kills from Dodd gave NYU a remarkable 34-32 win.
 
As expected of a team of the Ducks' caliber, Stevens did not go away, taking the third and fourth sets more comfortably before appearing to take control of the fifth. From there, though, NYU stormed back to capture the UVC regular-season championship in its first season as a member of the conference – and with one UVC match still to play.
 
Fauntleroy finished with a match-high 26 kills to go along with seven digs and three blocks. Dodd totaled 19 kills, eight digs and three blocks, while MacDonald had 15 kills and four digs. Mortland dished out 62 assists and added eight digs and three blocks.
 
David Evans led Stevens with 17 kills. Ryan Seifert added 14 kills and four blocks, while Thomas Hannum tallied 13 kills and seven digs. Kevin Aeckerle recorded 41 assists while splitting time at setter.
 
The Violets return to the court next Wednesday, March 28, for their final UVC regular-season contest. The squad travels to New Paltz, NY, to take on SUNY New Paltz at 7:00 pm.