Playing in its second match of the International Volleyball Hall of Fame Morgan Classic, hosted by Springfield College, the New York University Men's Volleyball Team fell to Vassar College, 3-0, on Saturday, February 5.

Lucas Osiecki was named to the All-Tournament Team after recording 11 kills, three digs, two assists and an ace in Friday's match against Endicott College.

The Violets (2-3) came in ranked #4 in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) with Vassar (3-1) currently the #3 team in the poll. The two teams are both members of the United Volleyball Conference (UVC), but this matchup did not count towards their conference records.

Vassar won by set scores of 25-15, 25-23 and 26-24 as the Violets nearly pushed it to four, squandering set point twice in the third.

The Brewers raced out to an 8-1 lead in the first as Gavin van Beveren punched in three early points. NYU fell behind by as many as 12 in the frame while Vassar hit .478 and never trailed after the first point.

Set two was back-and-forth with an Owen Wahlgren kill knotting it at 20-20 late. NYU took a 23-22 lead, but three unanswered Brewer points closed out the set and put them up 2-0 overall.

The Violets used a 7-0 run to take a 9-6 edge in the third off the strength of two James Haag kills. It became a set of runs from there as Vassar later scored five-straight to retake the lead, 19-17. NYU followed with a 7-3 spurt to gain set point, 24-22, but Vassar completed the sweep with its own 4-0 run to win the third, 26-24.

COACH'S COMMENTS

• "This weekend was a real learning experience for us. Playing away from home against top competition gives us a preview of where we need to be and where we need to improve in order to meet our goal of making NCAAs," said Head Coach José Piña. "Today's match, while a defeat, is one to build on. I like how the guys bounced back from the first set and were able to perform at a pretty good level in the last two sets."

BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN:

• Gautham Dasari put down a team-high seven kills (.200) for NYU, along with three digs and a block.
• Haag finished with five kills, two blocks, a dig and an assist.
• Osiecki and Ryan Whealen added four kills each while Whealen produced a team-high 20 assists.
• For Vassar, Andrew Kim had a match-high eight kills while Jacob Kim handed out a match-high 25 assists.
• The Violets' .145 hitting percentage was the lowest of the season so far. This was also their first three-set loss of 2022.
• NYU did not record a service ace for the first time all season.

NEXT UP:
The Violets will look to snap their two-game skid on Tuesday, February 8 when they take on Baruch College on the road. First serve is set for 7 pm.