The New York University men's volleyball team lost in five sets to Vassar College in its opening match of the United Volleyball Conference (UVC) Championship on Friday, April 8. The competition is being hosted by SUNY New Paltz in New Paltz, NY.
The Violets (14-14), currently ranked #12 by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), dropped the first two sets (25-10, 25-21) to the Brewers (24-6), who are ranked #8 by AVCA.
However, NYU rallied to win the third and fourth sets (25-19, 25-23), before dropping the finale 15-11.
"Vassar started very strong," said NYU Head Coach
Jose Pina. "But, once we weathered their initial push, we played even with them."
The Violets never led in the first set, and trailed by as many as four in the second. However, they mounted a comeback to tie the score at 21-21 before Vassar reeled off the final four points.
Despite being down 2-0, NYU came charging back. In a tight third set, the score was tied 13-13 when the Violets scored the next three points and held the lead the rest of the way.
The fourth set was even closer, as neither team led by more than two points at any time. With the scored tied 23-23, the Violets scored on a Brewer attack error and then clinched the set with a kill from
Colin LaPorte.
However, with the score tied 6-6 in the deciding set, Vassar produced a 6-2 run and the Violets never got closer than two the rest of the way.
"It was a hard-fought match between evenly-matched teams," said Pina. "We had our opportunities, but Vassar converted on more defensive plays in the final set."
HIGHLIGHTS:
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Chase Klein finished with 16 kills while committing only five errors for a .440 attack percentage. He added 10 digs and two blocks.
- LaPorte finished with 10 kills and three blocks.
"We battled back and almost had the comeback," LaPorte said. "Tough way to end the season."
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Derrick Chiu recorded a double-double with 39 assists and 10 digs.
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Benjamin Oxnard led the Violets with 13 digs.
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Chase Corbett had seven blocks, while
Sean Leahy added six.
The Violets' 2016 regular-season is now complete.
