The top-ranked and undefeated (26-0) New York University men's volleyball team won its First Round NCAA Division III Tournament match, defeating Baruch College in straight sets on Friday, April 18, at the John A. Paulson Center in Manhattan.

The Violets trailed in each of the first two sets, but came back to win both (25-22, 25-17) before breezing in the final set 25-5.

Host NYU will now face defending NCAA Champion California Lutheran University in the Elite 8 on Saturday. 

"It was a good performance by our young men," said Head Coach Jose Pina. "We started off a little shaky, but we are confident about our game and we know eventually we are going to perform." 

The Violets got off to a slow start in the first set, falling behind the Bearcats (18-12) 3-0 and 7-1.

NYU caught up at 13-13, and following three more ties, went ahead for good following a kill by Lucas Osiecki. Baruch was within 21-20 when an Emerson Evans kill and a Bearcats' attack error put NYU up by three.

A Baruch service error ended the opening set.

The Violets trailed 9-6 in the second set before a 5-0 run gave them the lead for good. NYU went ahead by eight points on a pair of occasions before Jake Upham's kill ended the set. 

It was all NYU in the final set, as the Violets jumped out 5-0 before going onto the 20-point victory. NYU used a 12-0 streak to stretch a 8-3 lead to end all doubt.

Evans led the Violets with seven kills, hitting .545, while also smacking a match-high six aces. Osiecki (.556) and Luke Boyer (.429) each had six kills as the NYU hit .411 overall.

"I think there was a little pressure at the start. After all, it's the NCAA Tournament," Evans said. "This is what we've been looking forward to all year. We've had one goal in mind, and once we found our footing today we were able to perform at a high level and can hopefully carry that into tomorrow."

Devyn Nguyen led the way with 27 assists, while Zach Knudsen had a team-high eight digs.

"We were tight in the beginning of the first, but were able to tighten it up and find our groove," Knudsen said. "This team is special. We've been through a lot to get here and we're ready to play tomorrow."

The Violets are now one win away from their second straight Final Four. First serve on Saturday is set for 6:30pm.