The New York University men's volleyball team was defeated by host Benedictine University in five sets on Saturday, January 19, in Lisle, IL.

Saturday's matchup featured a pair of teams ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top-15 Preseason Poll as the Eagles (1-0) were picked 14th and the Violets (0-3) came in at #6.

Benedictine rallied back from deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 to take the match by a score of 22-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-12, 15-8.

"Our serving was really strong in the first three sets and that allowed us to get ahead," said NYU Head Coach Jose Pina. "Unfortunately, that changed and we served inconsistently which allowed our opponents to attack stronger."

Alex Li recorded 17 kills and three service aces to lead the Violets, while Evan Lindley chipped in with 10 kills. Matin Bikdeli once again handled the setting duties for NYU and dished out a match-high 45 assists.

"Alex bounced back nicely after a tough match last night," added Pina. 

Elijah Medlock tallied a match-best 19 kills to lead the hosts, who attacked at a .276 clip, while NYU hit just .094.

Saturday's loss was the Violets' second five-set defeat through three matches this season.

NYU will look to turn its young season around on Wednesday, when it hosts Ramapo College in its home opener. First serve at the Brooklyn Athletic Facility is slated for 7pm.

"We are looking forward to getting back home and working on our consistency in our hitting and blocking," concluded Pina. "Those are areas we need to improve on if we are going to meet our expectations."