The New York University men's volleyball team was defeated by Stevens Institute of Technology in four sets on Wednesday, February 13, at Canavan Arena in Hoboken, NJ.

The Violets' (5-5) loss to Stevens (9-1), currently ranked #2 in the nation in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top-15 Poll, snapped NYU's four-match winning streak.

The teams traded victories in the first two sets, with the Ducks taking the opener 25-19 and the Violets rebounding in the second with a 25-16 victory.

The pivotal third set went into overtime with Stevens outlasting NYU 28-26. The Violets opened with a 5-0 lead, but were eventually caught at 8-8. Fourteen ties ensued before the Ducks broke the final 26-26 deadlock with consecutive points to secure the set.

The final set went even longer, with Stevens outlasting NYU 30-28 to clinch the match. The Violets were down by as many as six points, but came all the way back and managed a set point at 26-25. However, a kill by the Ducks' Jack Bittker followed and NYU was never able to reclaim the lead.

"It was a well-played match by both teams," said Head Coach Jose Pina. "The stats were pretty even, except the digs differential went their way by a good amount and they were able to get, and convert, a few extra points off those digs."  

Evan Lindley led NYU with 16 kills, while Alex Li and Neil Ferraro each had 13. Matin Bikdeli, the United Volleyball Conference's reigning Player of the week, finished with a match-high 49 assists.   

The Violets now take a week's intermission before returning to competition next Wednesday, February 20, when they host Rutgers-Newark University. First serve is set for 7:30pm at NYU's Brooklyn Athletic Facility.