NYU Post-Match Press Conference

The New York University men's volleyball team was defeated by Juniata College in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Division III Championship on Saturday, April 22, in Huntingdon, PA.

The Violets (18-10), ranked #3 in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), fell to #12 Eagles (21-11) in five sets (19-25, 31-33, 25-23, 25-22, 15-10).

"I thought our team rose to the occasion," said NYU Head Coach Jose Pina. "That was a great environment. I knew it was going to be a tough match, even when we got ahead early."

After an NYU attack error tied the score at 12, the Violets responded with five unanswered points and maintained their lead to win set one 25-19. The following set was back and forth; Juniata held the largest lead of the set at 22-19. NYU hung around and eventually took the set 33-31 to give themselves a 2-0 lead.

The Violets held a 22-20 lead in the following set, but Juniata rallied late to win 25-23 to halve their deficit. Set four was close as well, as no team held more than a three-point lead, but the Eagles won 25-22, before winning the decisive fifth set 15-10 to advance in the tournament.

"At the end, they just made a couple of more plays than us," added Pina.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

- Freshman Alex Li led NYU with 20 kills and added seven digs, three blocks and two service aces.

- Fellow freshman Evan Lindley posted 18 kills, seven digs, two blocks, and one service ace.

- Senior Derrick Chiu led the team with 51 assists and seven digs in his final game for the team.

NYU men's volleyball's historic 2016-17 concluded with the defeat. The Violets faced a grueling schedule, playing 18 of their 28 matches versus teams currently in the AVCA top 20, recording an 8-10 record in those matches. To reach the NCAA Tournament, the Violets defeated then-#3 Stevens Institute of Technology and #4 SUNY-New Paltz on consecutive days to win the United Volleyball Conference Tournament for the first time in school history and secure the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

"I'm very proud of this group and I see our program's future being very bright," concluded Pina.