The New York University men's volleyball team is officially heading into uncharted territory. For the first time in program history, the Violets will be competing in the NCAA Division III Championship Final Four.

The #7-ranked NYU squad defeated the #1-ranked team in NCAA Division III, Southern Virginia University, in a back-and-forth, intense five-set match on Saturday, April 20, in Lexington, VA.

The Violets (20-7) handed Southern Virginia (29-1) its first loss of the season despite dropping the first set, losing a 2-1 lead and having to stave off the Knights' final rally.

The scores were 18-25, 25-19, 25-23, 15-25, 15-13.

"They out-hit us, they out-killed us, but we had more blocks. I think we were able to play a higher level of defense at the net than Southern Virginia had previously faced," said Head Coach Jose Pina. "When a team has as much success as they've had there's a lot of pressure that comes with it. You want to stay close and put enough pressure on them so you have a chance to win. And we were able to do that."  

In the opening set, each team had early two-point leads. Then, with the score tied 10-10, Southern Virginia went on an 8-1 run to grab a lead they never relinquished. 

The Violets were able to pull within five on a pair of occasions, but got no closer as the Knights expanded their lead to as many as eight before claiming the seven-point win.

"They came out really hot. Everything was going their way. They were making good shots and really dominating at the net," said junior libero Zach Knudsen. "I turned to the guys and said 'if they're going to keep doing this, great, but we gotta fix what's going on on our side and go from there.'"

Indeed, NYU turned things around in the second set despite trailing by two points early. A 3-0 NYU run snapped an 8-8 tie and the Violets never led by less than two the rest of the way. The lead increased to a set-high six points, 24-18, following a kill by Lucas Osiecki.

The set ended on a Knights' service error.  

The third set featured 15 ties, the final one at 23-23. NYU had led by as many as three, but Southern Virginia kept coming back. Then, at 23-23, Buddy Cohen put NYU ahead with a kill. A following combo block by Ry Kagan and Devyn Nguyen secured the set.  

The Violets scored the first point of the fourth set and upped their advantage to three. NYU was still ahead 7-5 when the Knights went on a 9-0 run to take an insurmountable lead. They went up as many as 12 points en route to tying the match.

"We've had a lot of five-set matches this year and we've pretty much pulled out all of them except the first one," Pina explained. "We have been in that environment, that situation, so it didn't faze us."  

Nguyen's ace opened the final set and the Violets maintained a lead until Southern Virginia's 3-0 streak put them ahead for the first time at 7-6. Seven ties followed until the set was knotted at 13-13. 

Cohen and Nguyen then combined on a block, and Luke Boyer's kill sent NYU to the Final Four.

"It was pretty hectic at the end," Boyer admitted. "You can't really prepare yourself mentally for moments like that. But, we trusted the system, trusted each other and tried to remain positive. 

Boyer (13) and Osiecki (12) each had double-digit kills. Kagan finished with a match-high 10 blocks. Knudsen led the Violets with 13 digs while Nguyen did likewise with 35 assists.

"After winning the UVC (United Volleyball Conference) Championship last week we came into this with lots of confidence," Boyer said. "The bond that this group has, has had led us this far. We couldn't have done it without trusting each other."    

And, for the first time ever, they get to go even farther.

Next up is a date with a familiar foe and another UVC member, Vassar College, on Friday, April 26, in the National Semifinal in Dubuque, IA.