The New York University men's volleyball team opened its season against the Illinois Institute of Technology Scarlet Hawks on Friday night, January 17, in Chicago IL.

The Violets enter the season ranked #2 in the nation by the coaches in the AVCA Division III Preseason Poll. Coming off of their United Volleyball Conference (UVC) Championship and NCA Final Four appearance from last year, the team begins the 2025 season with great expectations. 

On Friday, the Violets opened their season by recording a dominant win over the Scarlet Hawks in straight sets.

NYU started strong, taking the first set 25-21 and closing it out with a kill from Lucas Osiecki. The 25-17 second set ended in similar similarly with another kill from Osiecki assisted by Krish Vasan. The final set closed with a kill from senior captain Buddy Cohen, ending the match at 25-21. 

Vasan, new to the team, led the offense with 44 assists.

"Vasan had an outstanding first collegiate start at the setter position, guiding the offense and controlling the tempo of the games," said Head Coach José Piña.

NYU excelled on offense with a collective .457 hitting percentage. Osiecki made a statement in his senior debut, recording a match-high .762 hitting percentage with 16 kills while also leading the defense with 10 digs. Zack Knudsen followed close behind recording eight digs and holding down the defense during serve receive. 

"Knudson had his customary excellent match on defense and serve receive," Pina added. "We hope to duplicate the strong offensive output while cutting back on service errors in our next match."

NYU returns to the court to face #18 North Central College on Saturday night at 7pm in Lisle, IL.