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Box Score | UVC Tournament Page

The #8 seeded New York University men's volleyball team (16-10) topped #1 Nazareth College (15-10) in the first round of the United Volleyball Conference (UVC) Tournament in Rochester, NY. The match lasted just three sets with scores of 25-16, 25-18, 25-17.
 
This win marks the first-ever victory for the men's volleyball team in the UVC Tournament.
 
The two squads met earlier this season on March 8. That match lasted four sets with Nazareth coming out on top. This match had a different narrative.
 
NYU got off to a hot start by winning nine of the first 12 points and forcing the home team to call a timeout with the score 9-3. A Chase Klein kill immediately following the timeout kept the hot start going, eventually leading to a Colin LaPorte kill that gave NYU the 25-16 first-set victory.
 
"The team made a commitment to each other to stick to our game plan," said NYU Head Coach Jose Pina. "We were aggressive from the first serve and carried that confidence and aggressiveness throughout the entire match."
 
The second set started off very tight, with both teams exchanging runs en route to a 9-9 tie. The Violets, however, took advantage of two attack errors by the Golden Flyers and one kill from Klein that prompted Nazareth to call a timeout trailing 12-9. Once again, NYU did not take its foot off the gas, expanding the lead to as much as seven en route to a 25-18 second-set victory.
 
"We never doubted that we would win this match. Nazareth is an excellent team. But, we know if we play our best we can compete with any team in the nation," added Pina. "Connor Mortland provided excellent leadership and demanded nothing less than greatness from the guys today."
 
The third set was very similar to the second, as the teams were once again knotted at 9-9. The Violets never wavered, relying on aggressive serving and superb defense to wrap up the set 25-17.
 
NYU managed to hold the Golden Flyers to a .028 hitting percentage for the match with no single player recording more than six kills. In all, the Violets out-hit, out-dug and out-served Nazareth in the match.
 
"From start to finish my men played hard, played together and played outstanding," said Pina. "I am so proud of the commitment and dedication they've displayed over the course of this long season, and that all culminated in this win today."
 
Highlights:
 
- Mortland dished out 33 assists and was a perfect 19-for-19 in service attempts.
 
- Klein led all players with 13 kills to go along with seven digs.
 
- LaPorte had seven kills, four service aces and three assisted blocks.
 
- Nick Capriccio was a force in the middle with five kills, two digs, one service ace and one block.
 
- Phil Bueno hit .429 with seven kills.
 
- Andrew Quirk had a match-high 11 digs.
 
Next up for the Violets is #4 seeded Elmira College, later on today, in the UVC Semifinals. Elmira defeated Medaille College in five sets to earn its spot in the semis. First serve is set for 5:00 pm. There will live video and live stats available, as well.