The New York University men's volleyball team, ranked #10 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Poll, defeated United Volleyball Conference (UVC) foe The Sage Colleges in four sets in Albany, NY, on Sunday, March 18.

The Violets (10-7, 3-4) recovered well after yesterday's loss to #9 New Paltz in Albany to defeat the Gators, who are now 8-13 overall and 2-5 in conference play. 

NYU won the first and second sets by scores of 25-22 and 25-19, respectively. Sage took set three 25-23 before the Violets won set four 25-18.

After opening an 11-2 lead in the first set, NYU fended off a Gator rally to open a lead. Despite trailing 7-5 in set two, the Violets recovered and doubled their advantage.

NYU came extremely close to a straight-set victory and held a 22-20 advantage in the third set, but Sage closed on a 5-1 run to extend the match. The Violet attack proved too much for the Gators to handle in the fourth set as NYU closed out the victory.

"It was a good win and an important one because it keeps us in contention for the UVC playoffs," said Head Coach Jose Pina. "We bounced back well from a tough loss yesterday."  

HIGHLIGHTS:

- Alex Li led all players with 20 kills and added a team-high six digs.

- Neil Ferraro contributed 16 kills and a game-high five blocks, while Andrew Zhu added 10 kills.

- Matin Bikdeli led all players with 50 assists.

"Alex, Andrew, Matin, and Neil all played strong matches for us," Pina added.

The Violets return to action on Tuesday, March 20, when they host Hunter College at its Brooklyn Athletic Facility at 7:00pm.