The New York University men's volleyball team was defeated in five sets by host Stevens Tech on Wednesday, March 1, in Hoboken, NJ.

Wednesday marked the second time in two weeks the fifth-ranked Violets (American Volleyball Coaches Association poll) took on the fourth-ranked Ducks and, for the second time, the match went five sets. NYU handed Stevens Tech its first loss of the season when it came back from 2-0 to defeat the Ducks on February 15. This time, the Violets also rallied back from an early 2-0 hole. but the squad was unable to finish the job falling 25-15, 25-14, 22-25, 23-25, 15-8.

"The boys played hard tonight," said Head Coach Jose Pina. "We got going a bit late and did not convert on a a few of our opponent's mistakes. They were able to convert our mistakes."

After getting outplayed in the opening two sets, NYU took control early in the third. The Violets led by as many as five mid-way through the frame, but the Ducks battled back to tie it at 19. NYU took over from there, eventually winning the set 25-22 on a kill from Neil Ferraro.

The fourth set was very similar to the third as the Violets maintained a slim lead throughout. Stevens once again tied it at 19, but the visitors were able to close strong and won the set 25-22 with the final point coming on a Ducks' service error.

Unlike the matchup two weeks when the Violets owned the fifth set, this time it was Stevens who jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. The Ducks scored six of the first seven points en route to winning the set 15-8 and the match 3-2.

Stevens improved to 14-2 on the season, while NYU dropped to 9-4. 

HIGHLIGHTS:

- Alex Li continued his impressive freshman campaign, leading all players with 20 kills. He was joined in double figures by classmates Evan Lindley and Ferraro, who each tallied 12 kills.

"Li provided us with a lot of offense," explained Pina.

- Ferraro attacked at a .455 percentage, just below teammate Sean Leahy (.462 with seven kills).

"Leahy and Ferraro had a pretty good hitting match," added Pina. 

- Derrick Chiu dished out a team-high 47 assists.

- Connor Keowen finished with a match-high 12 digs. 

NYU returns to action on Saturday, March 4, when the Violets travel to Arlington, VA, for a pair of matches. The Violets will take on Eastern Mennonite University at 2pm, before playing host Marymount University at 4pm.