The New York University men's volleyball team, ranked #8 by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), was defeated by #6 Dominican University (IL) on Tuesday, March 6, at NYU's Brooklyn Athletic Facility in Brooklyn, NY.
The Violets (7-6) fell in three sets to the Stars (15-4) by scores of 25-23, 25-16, 26-24.
In a tight opening set, NYU scored the first three points and were ahead 7-5 when Dominican scored the next three points to take its first lead of the match. From there, neither team led by more than two until the Stars went up 20-17. The Violets scored the next two points, but could not get any closer as the visitors took the first set 25-23.
NYU led 2-1 in the second set, but Dominican went on to take a 12-6 lead. The Violets pulled within four points on several occasions, the last time at 17-13. The Stars then used a 7-1 run to open up a set-high 10-point lead, 24-14, before posting the 25-16 victory.
The Violets fell behind by three early in the final set and were trailing 15-12 when they scored four consecutive points and took their first lead, 16-15. Dominican tied the set with the next point, but the Violets scored two of their own for an 18-16 advantage.
NYU still led 20-19, but Dominican scored the next four points to go ahead 23-20. The Violets tied the set 24-24 on a Dominican attack error, but did not score again as the Stars secured the final set 26-24.
"We played an inconsistent match. Our setting was off and our hitting was not very strong," said Head Coach
Jose Pina. "That doesn't bode well in men's volleyball."
NOTABLE:
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Neil Ferraro led NYU with a team-high 11 kills. He committed only three errors on 16 attempts, hitting .500 for the match.
- Both
Jaime Rivera (18) and
Matin Bikdeli (11) recorded double-digit assists.
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Alex Li led the Violets with eight digs.
The Violets return to action this weekend when they host a United Volleyball Conference Crossover. On Saturday, March 10, the Violets face Elmira College at 4:00pm. That contest will be preceded by a matchup between Stevens Institute of Technology and Bard College at 1:30pm. Then, on Sunday, March 11, NYU faces Bard at 1:30pm following a contest between Stevens and Elmira at 11am.