The New York University men's volleyball team was defeated by Springfield College in three sets in a matchup between top-10 teams on Friday, January 26, in Springfield, MA. The Pride won the match 25-20, 25-23, 25-16.

Springfield, which entered the matched ranked #1 by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), improved to 5-1 on the season, while the 10th-ranked Violets' record now stands at 2-2.

NYU jumped out to a 5-3 advantage in the opening set and eventually led by three at 10-7 before the hosts rallied to tie the frame at 13. The set went back-and-forth from there until Springfield broke an 18-18 tie with seven of the next nine points to win 25-20 and go ahead 1-0 in the match.

In the second set, the Pride raced out to a 14-5 lead, but NYU was able to close with two at 22-20. Springfield won three of the final four points, however, and won the frame 25-23 and took a 2-0 lead into the third set.

Springfield jumped out to an 8-4 advantage in the third set and led the rest of the way en route to the match-clinching 25-16 third-set victory.

"We played well in the first two games but they made a couple more defensive plays than we did," said Head Coach Jose Pina. "In game three, our serve receive was not as clean due to their strong serving."    

NOTABLES:

- Alex Li and Evan Lindley each tallied 10 kills to lead the Violets.

- Neil Ferraro finished the match with six blocks, including one solo block.

- Matin Bikdeli dished out 25 assists in the three-set match.

- Springfield won the NCAA Championship in 2017.

NYU returns to action tomorrow when it heads east to take on Wentworth Institute of Technology (4-1) at 2pm in Boston, MA.