On Tuesday, the unbeaten New York University men's volleyball team moved up to #1 in the nation in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Poll. On Wednesday, they showed why.

Facing #3-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology at NYU's Brooklyn Athletic Facility, the Violets came away with a straight-set victory over their local rivals: 25-22, 25-18, 25-23.

NYU (12-0) took its biggest lead of the first set, 11-7, but Stevens (13-3) rallied for the next four points. From there, neither team led by more than one until the Violets broke a 16-16 tie with three straight points. NYU again increased its lead to four points on three occasions before grabbing the three-point win.  

The Violets scored the first three points of the second set and raced to an 11-3 lead. However, the Ducks fought back with the next four points to cut into the deficit. They inched even closer by pulling within 15-13, but an NYU 4-0 run followed to thwart the comeback attempt. Stevens never got closer than five the rest of the set. 

The third set was tight throughout, as neither team led by more than two points the entire way. Trailing 23-22, NYU scored the final three points of the match, clinching the victory on James Haag's (Macungie, PA/Emmaus) kill. 

"The guys are excited and proud of being number one," said Head Coach Jose Pina. "They have worked hard and played well all season long. But, they know that we have a long way to go. When you win, though, it helps you to keep winning."     

Evan Lindley (Evanston, IL/Evanston Township) led three NYU players with double-digit kills, recording 13. Neil Ferraro (Newton, MA/Xaverian Brothers) had 11 and Alex Li (Cupertino, CA/Monta Vista) added 10, including the 1,000th of his career  

Matin Bikdeli's (Irvine, CA/University) 42 assists controlled a Violet attack which hit .390 for the match. Ferraro committed only one error and finished with a .556 hitting percentage. Lindley was at .458, and Tyler Flood (Corona del Mar, CA/Corona del Mar), who finished with nine kills, did not commit an error and finished with a .643 hitting percentage.

"It was just an outstanding match by our guys at the net," Pina said. "They were efficient and made few mistakes. In a match against a good team like this, it comes down to who makes the least amount of mistakes."     

The top-ranked Violets return to their Brooklyn court on Saturday, February 29, for a United Volleyball Conference match against #10 St. John Fisher College. First serve is set for 1:00p,