The New York University men's volleyball team, ranked #6 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Poll, defeated The College of Mount St. Vincent 3-0 and fell to #1 Springfield College 3-1 on Saturday, January 28, at NYU's Brooklyn Athletic Facility in Brooklyn, NY.

The Violets (4-1), dropped the first two sets (25-16, 25-11) to the Pride (6-1), before rallying for a win in the third set (26-24). In a tight fourth set, the Violets fell 25-22.

The match against the Dolphins (3-4) was not so close, as NYU won by scores of 25-18, 25-22, 25-22.

"It was a positive day the way we rebounded after a tough loss against Springfield in the first match," said Head Coach Jose Pina. "Springfield is a very good team, a legitimate number one."

NYU only led once (1-0) in the first set against Springfield and not at all in the second set. However, the Violets scored the first three points of the third to take an early lead. The Pride went ahead 18-16, but NYU reclaimed a 24-22 lead. After Springfield tied the match, NYU scored the final two points and wrapped up the set on a block by Evan Lindley.

Springfield scored the first four points of the final set. The Violets battled back, however, and tied the score on several occasions. However, with the count knotted at 22-22, the Pride produced two kills and a service ace to clinch the match.   

"What we took away from the first match is that we can play with them, especially after they dictated the pace in sets one and two," Pina explained. "We came out with five freshmen on the floor and played with amazing emotion after that, winning the third set and just falling short in the fourth." 

In the first set against Mount St. Vincent, the Violets snapped a 9-9 tie with a 3-0 run and never trailed again. Their seven-point advantage at the end was the highest of the set.

The second set was eerily similar, as again NYU broke a 9-9 tie with a 3-0 run to take the lead for good. The Dolphins did pull within 24-22 before the Violets secured the win on an attack error by the visitors.

The final set was decided early, as the Violets raced out to a 7-0 lead and increased it to 10, 18-8. However, the Dolphins stayed afloat and pulled to within two, 24-22, before Brendan Duggan's kill clinched the match for NYU.   

"We knew there could be no letdown in the second match," Pina said. "We talked about this all week, that we would have a very tough first match and would just have to focus and play well in the second."

The Violets return to action next weekend when they will compete in the Morgan Classic, hosted by Springfield in Springfield, MA, on Friday and Saturday, February 3-4. NYU will face Vassar College at 6:00 pm on Friday and either host Springfield or Kean University on Saturday.