The NYU men’s volleyball season came to an end at the hands of a familiar foe: the Stevens Institute of Technology. Stevens, just across the river in Hoboken, New Jersey, beat the Violets to win their third game against NYU this season. In the three games, NYU could not manage to win a single set, dropping all nine and showing no signs of life against the top-ranked Ducks.

Sophomore setter Patrick Merrick, though disappointed by the end of the season, gave Stevens their due after the game.

“We played hard until the end but Stevens just overpowered us throughout the game,” Merrick said. “They deserved the win and their number-one seed.”

Merrick finished with 10 assists in the loss, while sophomore setter Derrick Chiu also added 13. Sophomore outside hitter Chase Klein led the way in kills with seven, closely followed by two juniors: outside hitter Nick Benson and opposite Colin LaPorte.

“We’re disappointed in the loss and the season,” LaPorte said. “I thought we could have played better collectively, but I’m hopeful for next season since we are returning so many guys.”

The Violets will return nearly all of their core contributors, which include Benson, LaPorte, Klein and the pair of setters Merrick and Chiu. They also received positive contributions from some freshmen, like outside hitter Andrew Zhu and libero Billy Kopenhefer, during their late-season push.

Those freshmen, as well as other young players, are going to need to work to shore up the rotation moving into next season, as the Violets will surely miss senior captain and libero Andrew Quirk. As this past season progressed, freshmen began to see more action in key moments, but much more will be asked of them when they replace starters altogether.

With a solid balance of young talent and veteran leadership, the Violets are looking to next year to achieve what they could not this season. Loaded with seniors at the outside hitter and opposite positions, they will have a much better chance at working cohesively and justifying their top-10 ranking next season.

“It was a good year,” Merrick said. “But our goals for next year are to work hard and reach the NCAA tournament.”

Another year of practicing together and getting to know each other should give the Violets the opportunity to put up a better fight against the top tier of competition next season, and will hopefully lead to a much better showing against schools like Stevens.

A version of this article appeared in the Monday, April 13 print edition. Email Bobby Wagner at [email protected].