The New York University men's volleyball team, ranked #8 in the most recent American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 15 Poll, suffered a difficult five-set defeat (25-21, 22-25, 26-24, 21-25, 15-13) to Hunter College on Tuesday night, January 26, at the Jerome S. Coles Sports Center in Manhattan.
Multiple reserves saw significant action for the Violets (2-2) on Tuesday. However, it was offensive leader
Chase Klein who led the squad. The junior outside hitter led all players with 21 kills on 58 swings and tied for the NYU lead in blocks (5) and digs (13).
"It was a disappointing loss to a good Hunter team," said NYU Head Coach Jose Pina. "We had way more bad stretches than good. I gave playing opportunities to various guys -- some came through, while others did not."
Hunter (3-1) held the advantage over NYU at the net and notched 27 total blocks as a team. Additionally, the Violets' 63 total errors hurt them as the Hawks finished with 49."We're going to try and recover from this one. It's a long season," continued Pina. "Being that it's a loss to a team in the East Region, it's something that could possibly hurt our at-large possibilities down the line."HIGHLIGHTS:-
Phil Bueno finished with 10 kills, a career-best 13 digs and three total blocks.
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Chase Corbett notched eight kills, four total blocks and two digs.
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Sean Leahy registered six kills, five total blocks and two digs.
- Patrrick Merrick led all players with a match-high 38 assists.
Derrick Chiu, who played the second half of the fourth set and all of the fifth, dished out 10 helpers.
- Benjamin Crusinberry led Hunter with 14 kills, 13 digs, seven total blocks, and three service aces.
"We are going to have long road trips where we face tough teams and difficult tri-matches, which means there won't be much time to rest," Pina said.NYU will return to the court when they travel to neighboring Baruch College, ranked #11 by the AVCA, on Thursday night, February 4. The match is scheduled to begin at 7:30 pm.
