The New York University men's volleyball team won both of its matches on Saturday, April 1, at the Brooklyn Athletic Facility.

Hosting the United Volleyball Conference (UVC) Crossover, the Violets (15-8, 7-1 UVC) defeated Elmira College 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-22) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-22, 25-21).

NYU got off to a quick start in the first match and never trailed in racing out to an 8-2 lead. The advantage grew as high as eight points, 20-12, but Elmira (10-20, 1-7 UVC) pulled within 24-23 before an assisted block by Derrick Chiu and Neil Ferraro ended the opening set in NYU's favor.

The Soaring Eagles took their first lead of the match, 3-2, early in set two, and increased it to five, 13-8. However, the Violets used a 6-1 run to tie the score at 14-14. The Violets fell behind 20-19, but scored the next three points to take the lead for good, finally clinching the set on an Elmira service error.

The third set was extremely close throughout, with neither team leading by more than a point until NYU went from trailing 8-7 to going ahead 10-8. However, it was a short-lived lead as Elmira used a 4-1 streak to go back in front. Once again, the teams went back-and-forth, staying within two points of each other until NYU broke a 21-21 tie with three straight points. After Elmira broke the streak on a NYU service error, another Soaring Eagle service error ended the match.

In the second match, MIT took an early two-point lead in the opening set. Trailing 11-10, NYU took its first lead of the contest by scoring the next five points. The lead didn't last long, as the Engineers came back to take an 18-17 advantage. However, the Violets responded by scoring the next three points to reclaim the lead. Then, with the score tied 23-23, Nick Benson's consecutive kills secured the set for NYU.  

MIT again got off to a quick start, forging a 7-3 lead and expanding it to 14-7 in the second set. The Violets then used a 9-3 run to pull within one, 17-16. However, NYU could not catch the Engineers who went on to claim the set and even the match. 

The home team earned the first two points of the third set, but eventually fell behind 15-12. The Violets scored the next five points to reclaim the lead and never trailed again, leading by as many as four points in capturing the pivotal third set.  

The Violets were forced to rally again in the final set, falling behind 5-2 at the start but quickly turning things around to take a 9-8 lead. From there, NYU extended its advantage to 16-13. The Engineers scored the next three points to knot things up, but the Violets countered with their own three-point run to go up 19-16.

Though MIT pulled to within two points on several occasions, the Violets never relinquished the lead and clinched the hard-fought victory on Ferraro's match-ending block.

"We battled throughout both matches, showing a lot of intensity," said Head Coach Jose Pina. "These UVC matches are hard-fought, and I thought we did what we needed to do to pull out the victories."  

Prior to their match vs. MIT, the Violets honored their four graduating seniors: Benson, Chiu, Sean Leahy, and Stephen Tan.  

"These are four guys who have stuck with the program and given us everything they've had for four years," Pina explained. "They have helped to put us in a very good place, and I am grateful to all of them.

"Of course, this season has a long way to go and I expect them to be huge contributors as we get into the postseason." 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORES:

vs. Elmira:

- Alex Li had a match-high 14 kills and hit. 360. Andrew Zhu added seven kills and hit. 455. 

- Chiu recorded a match-high 29 assists.

- Adam Lee led NYU with seven digs.

vs. MIT:

- Li added 20 kills while hitting .333. Benson contributed 15 kills and a .355 hitting percentage.

- Chiu totaled 45 assists.

- Benson, Chiu and Connor Keowen each contributed 10 blocks.

The Violets return to action on Friday, April 7, when they travel to Beverly, MA, to face Endicott College. First serve is set for 5:00pm