The 12th-ranked NYU men's volleyball team fell to 4th-ranked Springfield College at the Violets' first-ever home match in the John A. Paulson Center in Manhattan on Wednesday, February 7.
The Violets played their home matches at the Brooklyn Athletic Center over the past few seasons.
The Violets (4-3) were defeated 25-19, 25-18, 25-15 by the Pride (8-1) on Wednesday.
"We've played scrimmages and an alumni match here with a ton of fans, so (playing at Paulson) is not an issue. The team was tight, performance-wise tonight," said Head Coach Jose Pina. "There were a couple of points in the match where one play by us would have turned around the whole set, but we didn't make the play."
The Violets fell behind 2-0 to open the first set, but came back to tie at 4-4 and then lead 6-4. Springfield scored the next four points, but again NYU manged to pull into an 8-8 deadlock.
However, the Pride scored the next two points and held the lead the rest of the set.
The Violets took an early lead in the second set, 4-3, but six unanswered points by the Pride set the tone for the rest. The Violets came closest with a five-point gap at 13-8, but Springfield extended the lead to 22-13, the biggest lead of the set. A Ry Kagan kill closed the gap to seven points, but three Violet errors rounded out another Springfield win.
NYU took several one-point leads early in the third set, but the Pride scored eight straight points after trailing 4-3 and were never seriously challenged.
The Violets managed to pull within five points at 18-13, but never got any closer.
Kagan recorded seven kills while Emerson Evans had six for the Violets. Devyn Nguyen assisted his teammates 16 times, while libero Zach Knudsen had a match-high 11 digs.
"Our team was good physically, but mentally we were a little tight," Pina explained. "We were frustrated out on the court."
The Violets go back on the road again on Valentine's Day, February 14, and play second-ranked Stevens.
"Stevens won the national championship last year, and we're playing them at their home," Pina added. "But, the guys will be more relaxed and we will go compete and whatever happens, happens."
