The New York University men's volleyball team swept Marymount University (25-22, 26-24, 25-23) in its final home match of the 2016 season on Friday night, April 1, at the Brooklyn Athletic Facility (BAF) in Brooklyn, NY.
The Violets evened their season record at 13-13, while the Saints fell to 17-10.
Prior to the start of the match, there was a ceremony honoring graduatings enior
Colin LaPorte and
Phil Bueno.
"The whole day was awesome," said Head Coach
Jose Pina. "We were able to play everybody and everybody played well. They really wanted to do this for the seniors."
In the first set, the Violets trailed 10-9 but scored the next three points to take the lead for good. They expanded it to as many as five points before
Nick Benson's kill closed out the set.
The second set was even closer, with the Violets overcoming an early six-point deficit. Trailing 10-4, NYU scored the next five points to tighten up the set. The Violets managed to pull even at 14-14 and the teams stayed within two points of each other the rest of the way. With the score tied 24-24, NYU reeled off the final two points on a kill by
Chase Klein and a block by
Sean Leahy.
The third set followed the same pattern, with NYU falling behind early but rallying to take the lead. The Violets eventually gained a 23-18 advantage, but the Saints scored five of the next six points to pull within 24-23.
However, a Marymount service error followed and the Violets held on for the victory.
"That is a quality team that we played," Pina added. "They didn't perform up to their potential, but they are a very good team."
HIGHLIGHTS:- Benson led the way with 12 kills.
-
Derrick Chiu (17) and
Patrick Merrick (16) led the Violets in assists.
- Leahy recorded a team-high four blocks.
"I was really happy that our seniors played well and got to play the whole match," Pina said. "That's just great."
The Violets return to action this Tuesday, April 5, when they travel to Mahwah, NJ, to face Ramapo College. First serve is set for 7:00 pm.
