Box Score
The sixth-ranked New York University men's volleyball team came up just short in a five-set thriller on the road against second-ranked Springfield College on Wednesday, March 7, in Springfield, MA.
The Violets dropped the first two sets (25-23, 25-22), before taking the third (25-21) and fourth (25-21), and setting up a very entertaining fifth set.
In the tight, deciding final set, the Violets (12-4) gave the Pride (16-5) everything they could handle but it just wasn't enough as they fell 15-12 and suffered their fourth loss of the season.
Although the plan for the Violets is still to win the United Volleyball Conference (UVC) Championship and gain the automatic birth into the inaugural NCAA Division III National Championship, this match had major implications for a possible at-large bid.
As it stands right now, there are two independent schools (Springfield and MIT) and three schools from the same conference (UC Santa Cruz, Juniata and Carthage) ranked ahead of NYU in the most recent AVCA Division III National Poll. A win tonight against the Pride in Blake Arena, where Springfield has not lost yet this season, would have improved the Violets' at-large chances should they fail to capture the UVC crown.
The Violets did exceptionally well considering their starting outside hitter,
Matthew MacDonald, and starting opposite hitter,
Luke Hamlet, were unable to travel with the squad due to class obligations. NYU relied on
Parker Kolodka and
George Koch to fill in their respective positions before Koch went down in the third set, leaving the team without a middle blocker.
Head coach
Jose Pina had no choice but to call on libero
Dylan Ramey to fill in the role.
Kolodka took advantage of this opportunity; recording five digs and 16 kills on 22 total attacks with a hitting percentage of .545.
Pat Dodd also posted his usual double-digit kill total with 13 to go along with four digs and three total blocks.
“We played excellent tonight,” Pina said. “I have never been more proud of my guys.”
Taylor Fauntleroy contributed a match- and career-high 28 kills on an astonishing 59 attacks.
Connor Mortland also put up jaw-dropping numbers, doling out 52 assists on 113 attempts.
The Violets' next match is on Saturday, March 10, at the UVC Crossover #2 in Rochester, NY, against D'Youville College. First serve is set for 1:30pm.
