The New York University men's volleyball team, ranked #13 by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), was in New Paltz, NY, on Sunday, March 6, for a United Volleyball Conference (UVC) tri-match.
NYU (8-8, 4-2 UVC) began the day with a 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-21, 25-19) victory over Penn State-Behrend (4-12, 1-4 UVC). Then, the Violets fell to host and #2 SUNY New Paltz (19-2, 5-0 UVC) in four sets (25-20, 21-25, 25-15, 25-22).
"The first match against Penn State-Behrend was a great win for the team and we got contributions from guys who haven't seen as much playing time this year," said NYU Head Coach
Jose Pina. "We had a strong showing against the #2 team in the country in New Paltz. We fought back to win the second set, which was great, and almost did the same thing in the fourth."
Colin LaPorte shined for NYU against the Lions in the first match. The senior opposite tied a career high with a match-best 21 kills.
Andrew Zhu and
Jake Getz also had quality matches. Zhu, a sophomore outside hitter, had career bests in kills (15) and digs (10), while Getz, a junior outside, notched a season-best 10 kills and a career-high 12 digs.
Benjamin Oxnard tied the match high with 14 digs.
During the Violets loss to the host Hawks,
Phil Bueno led all players with a career-best 21 kills on 31 swings with just four errors (.548 hitting percentage).
Derrick Chiu notched his third double-double of the season as he led NYU with 33 assists and 10 digs.
HIGHLIGHTS vs. PENN ST.-BEHREND:-
Patrick Merrick dished out a match- and season-high 52 assists. He also had nine digs.
HIGHLIGHTS vs. NEW PALTZ:-
Nick Benson finished with nine kills on 21 swings (.333 hitting percentage) and six digs.
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Sean Leahy registered seven kills on 14 swings with no errors (.500 hitting percentage) and a match-high-tying four total blocks.
The Violets will return to the court when they host York College (NY) at the Brooklyn Athletic Facility on Wednesday night, March 9. First serve in Brooklyn, NY, is scheduled for 7:30 pm.
