The New York University men's volleyball team was defeated in five sets (16-25, 25-20, 25-23, 24-26, 15-13) by host St. John Fisher College on Saturday, February 23 in Pittsford, NY.

St. John Fisher improved to 13-3 on the season and 2-0 in United Volleyball Conference matches, while the Violets are now 6-7 overall and 2-1 in UVC action.

"This was a tough loss in a match that was very even," explained Head Coach Jose Pina. "We played 12 guys and tried hard to find the right combination."

NYU dominated the first set, before the Cardinals battled back to win the second and third sets. In the fourth set, the Violets trailed 24-23, but rattled off three-straight points to force a winner-takes-all fifth set.

The Violets led the fifth set 7-5, but a 5-1 run from St. John Fisher put the hosts in front 10-8. NYU was able to get back within one point on several occasions, but ultimately lost the set and the match on a kill from Josh Bigford.

Bigford recorded a match-best 22 kills to help the Cardinals remain unbeaten in UVC play, while Paul Hackford dished out 51 assists in the win.

NYU was led by Alex Li, who tallied 17 kills, and Matin Bikdeli who finished the match with 50 assists.

Saturday's match was the Violets' fifth five-set match this season and the squad is now 1-4 when the match goes the distance. 

NYU will look to get back in the win column tomorrow when it takes on Nazereth College in another UVC match. First serve is slated for 2pm in Rochester, NY.

"We will regroup and get back out there tomorrow looking for a conference win against another tough opponent," concluded Pina.