The New York University men's volleyball team won a pair of matches on Saturday, March 24, at Ramapo College in Mahwah, NJ. 

The Violets (13-7), ranked #10 in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), first beat New Jersey City University (6-12) in three sets (25-17, 25-11, 25-23) before toppling the host Roadrunners (6-15) in three sets (25-16, 25-18, 29-27), as well.

NJCU Recap:
The Violets started the match slow, as NJCU raced out to a 4-1 lead in the opening set and led 9-6 and 14-12, before NYU went on a run to take control of the set. The Violets took the lead at 16-15 and with the score at 20-17, NYU scored five straight to clinch the set and take a 1-0 lead.

Set number two was all NYU from the beginning, as the Violets scored nine of the first 11 points en route to a dominating 25-11 victory. The Violets hit .632 in the set, collecting 13 kills in 19 attempts, with just one error. 

The third set was the closest, with the Gothic Knights going on an early run to lead by six at 12-6. NYU cut into the lead to make the deficit just two, 17-15, and scored seven of the next 10 to go ahead 22-20. NJCU tied the set at 23, but NYU closed out the frame, and the match, on two straight kills from Brendan Duggan.

Alex Li hit .520 for NYU (match-high 16 kills, three errors, 25 attacks), while Matin Bikdeli dished out a match-best 34 assists in the win.

Ramapo Recap
NYU continued its momentum into the second match of the night as it turned a 7-7 first-set tie into a 15-8 advantage it would not relinquish. The Violets led by as many as 11 in the frame en route to the 25-16 victory.

The Violets scored the first four points of the second set and never looked back en route to a 25-18 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.

The third and final set was once again the closest as NYU needed to go past 25 to win the frame. Ramapo led 8-4 before the Violets scored four unanswered to tie the set and went ahead for the first time at 10-9. The squads traded the lead several times and with the score tied at 27-27, NYU forced a Ramapo attack error and followed it up with a service ace from Andrew Zhu to win the set and clinch the match.

Li once again led all players with 12 kills, while Evan Lindley chipped in with nine. 

Up Next:

The Violets return to action when they face United Volleyball Conference (UVC) foe Nazareth College on Friday, March 30, in Rochester, NY, beginning at 8:00 PM.