The New York University men's volleyball team, competing in the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament for the first time since 2017, made it a successful return with a sweep of Baruch College on Friday, April 19, in Lexington, VA.

The Violets, currently ranked #7 in the nation, took the contest by scores of 25-21, 25-14, 29-27. NYU (19-7) had lost a five-set match at Baruch (19-7) earlier in the season (January 25). 

"We came back with a lot of fire in us after having lost to them earlier," said junior outside hitter Lucas Osiecki. "We know a lot of those guys from New York City and the rivalry is huge. We wanted to take revenge."

NYU will now face host and top-ranked Southern Virginia University on Saturday with a trip to next weekend's Final Four on the line.

Friday's first set seemed to be a "feel out" process, as early on neither team led by more than two points and there were 11 ties.

However, with the Violets trailing 16-15, a six-point NYU run gave them the lead for good. The Bearcats were only able to pull within two the rest of the way, and a combo block from Emerson Evans and Buddy Cohen sealed the deal. 

The second set was tied 4-4 when consecutive kills from Cohen and Osiecki gave NYU a lead it would never relinquish.

After Baruch moved within 6-5, a four-point streak from NYU created some breathing room. Then, still ahead by three at 10-7, the Violets produced another four-point run to open up a seven-point advantage. The lead grew to a set-high 11 points at 23-12 following an Emerson kill, and the Violets closed it out on an Emerson/Ry Kagan block. 

The Violets trailed by two points on three occasions early in the final set, but went ahead 15-10 following a 4-0 run.

However, the Bearcats continued to claw back, drawing even several times, beginning at 22-22 and extending to 27-27.

At that point, Kagen's kill followed by Emerson's block clinched the match.

"None of us have been in the NCAA Tournament before, so we certainly don't take this for granted," Kagan said. "We are super excited to be here. We've gone through so much as a team and we are here now ready to go."  

Osiecki finished with a match-high 19 kills, while Boyer and Kagan each had 11.

Boyer and Evans each led the way with eight digs, while Devyn Nguyen contributed a match-high 36 assists.

Kagan had seven blocks and Evans finished with five.

"We made some minor errors of execution at the end," admitted Head Coach Jose Pina. "But, we were able to clean it up and get the points we needed to win the match."

NYU's match-up vs. Southern Virginia is scheduled for 6:00pm.