The New York University men's volleyball team, currently ranked #2 in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), fell to its United Volleyball Conference (UVC) rival SUNY New Paltz in five sets on Wednesday, March 11, in New Paltz, NY.
New Paltz (16-3,4-1) took sets one (25-18), four (25-18) and five (15-12). NYU (13-3,4-2) took sets two and three by scores of 25-19 and 25-23, respectively.
In set one, the Hawks scored the first two points and never relinquished the lead. NYU got within two on a few occasions, but the home team went on to the seven-point victory.
Things were a bit closer in the second set as the teams were tied three times before NYU took an 8-7 lead and never looked back. The Violets led by as many as six, 18-12, highlighted by a pair of
Evan Lindley (Evanston, IL/Evanston Township) kills. That lead gave NYU enough space to take the second set.
Just like the previous set, the Violets and Hawks were locked 11-11. After falling behind 18-13, the NYU offense got hot, as it produced a 9-4 run to tie the set at 22-22. After a pair of errors from New Paltz and yet another Lindley kill, the Violets were able win the third set.
Despite NYU leading 8-7 in the fourth set, the Hawks were able to take a 18-16 lead and hold on to force a fifth set.
In the final set, NYU took an early 5-1 lead after attack errors from New Paltz. However, it was the Hawks who broke a 12-12 tie and took the lead for good.
"It was a great match by two really good squads," noted Head Coach
Jose Pina. "New Paltz played a cleaner match than us on offense tonight."
Overall, NYU hit .223 compared to New Paltz's .287.
Lindley led NYU with 16 kills and two service aces, while
Matin Bikdeli (Irvine, CA/University) led all Violets with 28 assists.
"They (New Paltz) minimized their unforced errors in game five," concluded Pina. "I think that was the true difference that allowed New Paltz to pull off the victory."
The Violets will be back out on the court on Saturday, March 14, when they host St. Francis College. First serve at the Brooklyn Athletics Facility is set for 1:00pm.
