The New York University men's volleyball team won both of its matches, including a victory over the #2-ranked team in the nation, at the United Volleyball Conference (UVC) Crossover on Saturday, February 11, at Penn State Behrend University in Erie, PA.

The Violets (7-3, 3-0 UVC), currently ranked #9 by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), started their day by defeating the host Lions 3-1 (25-19. 25-22, 22-25, 25-16).

NYU then faced #2-ranked SUNY New Paltz, the defending NCAA Division III Champions, and pulled off a sweep of the Hawks 25-19. 25-17, 30-28.

The Violets had not beaten SUNY New Paltz since March 28, 2012.

"This was a big win for us, very significant, as New Paltz had won 41-straight matches against Division III teams," said Head Coach Jose Pina. "This puts us in a good position in the conference. If we can maintain this level of play, it bolsters our post-season hopes." 

NYU scored the first three points of the first set against New Paltz, but the Hawks came back to tie 12-12. The Violets scored the next three points and held the lead the rest of the way.

The Violets never trailed in the second set, either. Leading 18-16, NYU went on a 7-1 streak to end the set,

The final set was close throughout, as NYU got ahead by as many as four points and New Paltz held several one-point leads. The Violets staved off three set points down the stretch. Neil Ferraro and Alex Li combined on a block to break a 28-28 tie, and a Hawk attack error gave NYU the impressive victory. 

"We received their serves really well. That was the key to the match," Pina explained. "They are known as a strong serving team, probably the best in the country. We made them have to serve tougher, and we kept their aces at a minimum (only two for the entire match). We had very good ball control and that put pressure on their servers. We had been struggling with that.  

"Overall, we hit the benchmarks that you strive for as a volleyball team."  

In the first match of the day, NYU was tested mightily by the hosts. After taking the first two tightly-contested sets, the Violets dropped the third set to the Lions.

Undeterred, however, the Violets pulled it back together and went on for a comfortable fourth-set clinching victory.  

"We were able to use many of our players who don't usually play as much, especially after we were up 2-0," Pina said. "I think we relaxed a bit, but came on strong in the final set. It was a good victory. We worked out a few kinks and had a positive mindset heading into the New Paltz match." 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORES:

vs. New Paltz:

-  The Violets out-hit the Hawks .297-.144. Li had a team-high eight kills, while Sean Leahy was a perfect 6-for-6 on his attempts.

-  Derrick Chiu hit .429 (4-for-7) and led the squad with 21 assists.

- Andrew Zhu posted a team-high nine digs

vs. Penn State Behrend:

- Li and Evan Lindley each had a match-high 13 kills. Zhu added 12.

- Matin Bikdeli provided a match-high 38 assists.

- Lindley also recorded a match-best eight digs.

The Violets return to action this Wednesday, February 15, when they host #3 Stevens Institute of Technology in another UVC contest. Scheduled start time is 7:00 pm at NYU's Brooklyn Athletic Facility.