New York University's 10th-ranked men's volleyball team fell in four sets to sixth-ranked California Lutheran University on Sunday, January 21, on the final day of the Slug Slam in Santa Cruz, CA.

The Violets won two out of three matches in the Golden State as Luke Boyer and Devyn Nguyen were named to the All-Tournament Team.

"Really strong battle today against a really good and experienced Cal Lutheran squad. We played them even throughout the match, but their experience and quality overcame a strong effort by our young men," said Head Coach José Piña. "Our middle hitters had a really outstanding match, but Cal Lutheran's blocking neutralized our outside attack. Overall, this was an excellent trip and a great way to start our season."

Four different Violets had double-digit kills against the Kingsmen as Boyer, Emerson Evans and Ry Kagan notched 12 apiece while Lucas Osiecki finished with 10 and 11 digs for a double-double. Nguyen posted a match-high 48 assists and Zach Knudsen brought up a team-high 14 digs.

The first set was a thriller that saw nine ties and three lead changes, culminating in a 33-31 victory for Cal Lutheran. NYU had the largest lead of the frame, 13-7, and match point at 24-22, but the Kingsmen proved resilient in taking victory.

NYU turned it around in the second, taking its first lead at 7-6 and never trailing the rest of the period. Evans had half of his 12 kills in the set, leading the Violets to a 25-22 triumph which evened the match 1-1.

The third set was another close encounter which saw the scored tied 18-18 late. But, the Kingsmen outscored NYU 7-3 the rest of the way to take a 25-21 victory as their defense forced nine Violet attack errors in the set.

Six different Violets recorded a kill in the fourth, with four each from Boyer and Kagan, but CLU outlasted NYU once again in another neck-and-neck set. The score was tied 19-19, but the Kingsmen scored six of the last nine points to win the match.

Boyer added nine digs to his 12 kills as he nearly had a double-double, while Nguyen finished with eight digs himself. Matthew Warter produced a match-high four aces for the Violets.

NYU returns to the East Coast to play at Baruch College on Thursday, January 25, in Manhattan.