In a rematch of the 2025 NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal tilt, the #8-ranked New York University men's volleyball team took down the #9-ranked California Lutheran University in four sets, on Saturday, January 17, in Santa Cruz, CA. 

Tied at one set a piece, the Violets won the third and fourth frames to win the match 25-22, 27-29, 25-22, 25-20.

After California Lutheran took a 7-5 edge early in the first set, the Violets went on a 5-0 run to jump ahead. However, the Kingsmen answered by winning five of the next six points to go back up 12-11. Several rallies later, NYU trailed 14-13 but bounced back with four straight points. 

Following an Emerson Evans kill to put the Violets ahead 20-17, California Lutheran evened the score with three consecutive points. The Kingsmen were unable to regain the lead, though, as NYU put away the set with a 25-23 win. 

The Violets began the second frame ahead 2-0 but quickly fell behind after a 9-0 California Lutheran run. Later down 16-10, NYU answered back with an 9-3 run to tie the set at 19-19. The Kingsmen then recovered and retook a 23-21 lead, after which the Violets won the next three rallies to flip the scoreboard. 

Neither team was able to deliver the final blow until California Lutheran landed back-to-back kills with score tied 27-27 to win the set. 

Down 4-1 to open the third stanza, NYU scored seven consecutive points to take the lead for good. The Violets led by as much as six at one point, ahead 19-13, but the Kingsmen fought back with a 7-2 run to cut the deficit to one. With NYU up 23-22, Evans registered two straight kills to clinch the set. 

The two teams exchanged blows throughout the opening of the fourth frame, eventually bringing the score to 13-13. The Violets then began to break away, winning seven of the next nine points to go ahead 20-15. After California Lutheran came back with three straight points, NYU managed to put the match away with a 5-2 run. 

Evans replicated his stellar performance from the previous night with 23 kills on .367 hitting. Freshman Charles Clifford also starred with 12 kills on .290 hitting. Devyn Nguyen collected 37 assists, while Bennet Tchaikovsky posted 12 digs. 

The Violets will close out the Santa Cruz Slug Slam with a tilt against the host University of California Santa Cruz tomorrow at 3:00pm ET.