The New York University men's volleyball team, ranked #13 in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), won for the second time in two nights to open its 2020 season. After defeating Fontbonne University on Friday night, the Violets posted a second consecutive straight-set victory, this time over host Cal Lutheran University on Saturday, January 18, in Thousand Oaks, CA.
The Violets (2-0) defeated the #16-ranked Kingsmen (5-3) by scores of 28-26, 25-15, 25-18.
There were nine ties in the first set and neither team led by more than three points. It was tied for the final time, 26-26, when consecutive kills by
James Haag (Macungie, PA/Emmaus) and
Evan Lindley (Evanston, IL/Evanston Township) ended the set.
Cal Lutheran scored the first two points of the second set. But, NYU tallied the next five and never trailed again. The lead grew to as many as 14 points before the Violets settled for the 10-point win.
The Violets trailed by as many as six points in the final set. Down 13-7, NYU rallied to score the next six points and tie things up at 13-13. Then, with the score tied at 17-17, the visitors scored the next two points and finished the set on an 8-1 run to clinch the victory.
Neil Ferraro (Newton, MA/Xaverian Brothers) led NYU with 11 kills while attacking at a .600 clip. Lindley finished with nine kills and a .471 hitting percentage.
Tyler Flood (Corona del Mar, CA/Corona del Mar) contributed six kills and hit .556.
Overall, the Violets won the battle at the net, hitting a proficient .329 compared to the Kingsmen's .044.
Matin Bikdeli (Irvine, CA/University) recorded a match-high 33 assists for NYU.
"It was another strong team performance for our team," said Head Coach
Jose Pina. "Ferraro, Lindley and Flood led the way hitting, and our blocking was very good tonight. We also had a strong defensive game with (Connor) Keowen getting 11 digs. And, our service was excellent, putting a lot of pressure on Cal Lutheran's serve receivers."
The Violets complete play in Thousand Oaks with a match against the University of California, Santa Cruz on Sunday at 11:00 (central time).
