The New York University men's volleyball team, ranked #4 in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), defeated Nazareth College 3-0 in a United Volleyball Conference matchup on Friday, February 14, at the Brooklyn Athletic Facility in Brooklyn, NY.

The Violets (8-0, 2-0) bloomed on Valentine's Day, sweeping the Golden Flyers (3-9, 0-1) by scores of 25-20, 25-18, 25-19.

The first set remained close most of the way. The Violets were only up by two, 15-13, whe they ripped off the next three points to create some distance. The lead grew to as many as six points before a Nazareth service error ended the set.

NYU trailed 4-3 in the second set, but scored the next five points. The Violets' advantage was never less than two points the rest of the way and grew to a match-high seven at the end.  

In the final set, NYU scored the first three points and were never caught. The Violets' advantage grew to a set-high six when Matthew Noel's (Rochester, NY/McQuaid Jesuit) kill ended the contest.   

Noel finished 4-of-4 on kill attempts, posting a perfect 1.000 percentage as NYU hit a whopping .600 for the match. Alex Li (Cupertino, CA/Monta Vista) led the way with nine kills (.615 hitting percentage), while Evan Lindley (Evanston, IL/Evanston Township) and Neil Frerraro each had six.

"Our sixty-percent attack percentage was really phenomenal," said Head Coach Jose Pina. "As a coach, I would've liked to have held them to less than 28 percent. But, when yuu hit 60 percent, you really can't complain too much."

Matin Bikdeli (Irvine, CA/University) led NYU with a match-high 27 assists. He also had five digs, as did Connor Keowen (San Ramon, CA/California). 

"Overall, just a great performance on offense," Pina concluded.

The Violets return to action on Wednesday, February 19, when they travel to Poughkeepsie, NY, for another UVC contest. NYU will face host Bard College beginning at 7:00pm.