The New York University men's volleyball team swept host Bard College (25-16, 25-16, 25-17) in its United Volleyball Conference (UVC) opener on Wednesday night, February 8, in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY.

NYU, ranked #9 in the most recent American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll, improved to 5-3 on the season, while the Raptors, who also opened their UVC schedule on Wednesday, dropped to 1-9.

"Tonight was a good match after a tough weekend," said Head Coach Jose Pina. "All available student-athletes saw playing time, a good reward for all of the hard work they've been putting in."

In the first set, the Violets trailed 5-3, but went on a 6-1 run to gain control of the frame. From there, the squad maintained a steady lead, which eventually increased to a nine-point margin.

The second set saw NYU score the first three points and build leads of 11-6 and 20-13. Bard was able to cut the deficit to six at 22-16, but three straight points from the Violets put the visitors ahead 2-0.

NYU scored seven of the first eight points in the third set to leave little doubt. With NYU leading 15-5, Bard scored five straight to close the gap to five. The Violets answered with a 5-0 run of their own to take a 20-10 lead before eventually pulling out a 25-17 victory in the final set and a 3-0 win in the match.

"All in all, a good performance by our young men," added Pina.

It was NYU's third straight-set victory of the season.

HIGHLIGHTS:

- Alex Li recorded a match-high 12 kills on just 14 total attacks (.857 hitting percentage).

- Matin Bikdeli (12 assists) and Derrick Chiu (11 assists) both dished out double-digit assists.

- Ethan Talkov had a strong game at the net. The sophomore tallied three solo blocks and one block assist.

The Violets will return to action on Saturday, February 11, at the United Volleyball Crossover (UVC) Crossover in Erie, PA. They will take on host Penn St.-Behrend at 10 am and SUNY New Paltz at 12:30 pm.