The New York University men's volleyball team won its 2024 season opener with a four-set win over host UC Santa Cruz on Friday, January 19, in Santa Cruz, CA.

In a very competitive match, the Violets outlasted the Banana Slugs 26-24, 20-25, 25-21, 32-30.

NYU did not seem to experience any jet lag in scoring the first four points of the match en route to grabbing the opening set.   

The Banana Slugs rebounded by using a 9-2 run midway through the second set to even up the match.

In the pivotal third set, the Violets broke an 8-8 tie by scoring the next three points and never surrendered the lead.

The final set was a doozey, with neither team able to pull away. NYU led 24-22, but UC Santa Cruz scored the next three points to put them on the edge of evening up the match. But, NYU staved off the threat and eventually clinched on a Banana Slug attack error. 

Luke Boyer and Ry Kagan each had 10 kills for NYU, while Lucas Osiecki had nine.

Devyn Nguyen recorded a match-high 41 assists and Matthew Warter led the Violets with 10 digs.

The Violets are back in action on Saturday when they face Carthage College at 4:00pm (pacific) also at UC Santa Cruz.