The New York University men's volleyball team dropped its United Volleyball Conference (UVC) opener in four sets to Vassar College on Saturday, February 17, at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ.
Vassar (9-3, 3-0 UVC), ranked number 12 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III poll, defeated the seventh-ranked Violets 25-20, 20-25, 25-15, 25-19.
"That was a tough loss to a good Vassar squad," said NYU Head Coach
Jose Pina. "They were able to stop our attack efficiently by making our offense a bit predictable."
NYU led 6-2 and 9-5 in the opening set, but the Brewers rallied to tie the frame at 11 and eventually took a 13-12 lead. Vassar built its lead to 16-12, but NYU rallied back with three-straight points to get within one. NYU got no closer than two the rest of the way as the Brewers pulled out the opening set, 25-20.
The Violets trailed 14-12 in the second set, but scored four straight to take a 16-14 advantage. They built their lead to three, 20-17, before a 3-1 Vassar run cut their advantage to just one, 21-20. NYU regained its composure to score the final four points of the set and tie the match at 1-1.
Vassar attacked at a .526 clip in the third set as it jumped out to an 8-3 advantage and never looked back. The Brewers led by as many as 11 in the set, which they took on a kill from Ryan Duchemin and went back in front 2-1 in the match.
NYU scored three of the first four points in the fourth set and maintained its lead until a 5-0 Vassar run turned an 11-9 Violets' advantage into a 14-11 Brewers' lead. Vassar led by at least two the rest of the way, ultimately winning the set, and the match, on an NYU attack error.
NOTABLES:
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Alex Li led NYU with 13 kills, while
Evan Lindley chipped in with 11.
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Matin Bikdeli dished out a match-best 37 assists.
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Connor Keowen tallied a match-high 10 digs.
- Last season, Vassar won the UVC regular season title, while NYU won the conference's postseason tournament.
The squad resumes action tomorrow when they face Massachusetts Institute of Technology in another UVC match at Stevens beginning at 11 AM.
"MIT is another tough team," conclude Pina. "But our guys are ready for the challenge and prepared to battle."
