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BOX SCORE

The New York University men's volleyball team was defeated in five sets by the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez at the Morgan Classic, hosted by Springfield College, on Saturday evening, February 6, in Springfield, MA.

The Violets (3-4) entered the contest ranked #8 by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), but fell 3-2 (23-25, 25-22, 19-25, 25-18, 15-13) to Division II Puerto Rico.

"It was a very good match against a really good squad from Puerto Rico," said NYU Head Coach Jose Pina. "They are the defending University of Puerto Rico system champions."

NYU began by taking the tightly-contested first set. The Violets took their first lead of the set at 15-14 en route to the two-point win. Puerto Rico led for the majority of the second set and tied the match at one apiece. 

The Violets stormed back in the third set, jumping out to as much as a seven-point lead to take the 2-1 overall advantage.

Puerto Rico mirrored NYU's performance with a seven-point win in the fourth set before posting a hard-fought 15-13 victory in the fifth and final set.

"We made a good comeback at the end of the fifth set, but we couldn't quite get over that hump for the win," Pina said. "Overall, it was a great experience for the team as we close in on UVC (United Volleyball Conference) play."

HIGHLIGHTS:

- Colin LaPorte led NYU with 18.5 points and 16 kills on Saturday in his 2016 season debut.

"We were able to compete with them throughout the match, and Colin played great in his season debut," continued Pina.

- Nick Benson finished with 11 kills, six digs, five total blocks, and three service aces.

- Chase Corbett and Chase Klein each notched 10 kills. Corbett hit a team-best .421 percent and added four total blocks. Klein also registered six digs and three total blocks.

- Sean Leahy led NYU with seven total blocks and added five kills.

- Derrick Chiu led NYU with 47 assists and tied the match high with nine digs.

The Violets will return to action on Wednesday night, February 10, when they travel to Union, NJ, for a match against Kean University. First serve against the Cougars is scheduled for 7:30 pm.