Volleyball Secures Big Win on Senior Day

Brandon Herrera, Staff Writer

With the United Volleyball Conference Championship tournament in the near future, the NYU men’s volleyball team knew it needed to win. Not only was the game needed to get the Violets back to .500, it was also senior day. In the last home match of the regular season, the team swept the Saints of Marymount University in three sets (25-22, 26-24, 25-23) on Friday at the Brooklyn Athletic Facility. With the win, the Violets finished the year with a solid 5-2 record at home.

Before the first serve, a ceremony was held for seniors Colin LaPorte and Phil Bueno, both of whom were playing their final match at home for NYU. Perhaps sparked by the emotional moment, the Violets (13-13) showed their resilience and ability to bounce back throughout the day as they found themselves trailing early on in each set. In the first frame, NYU was down 9-10 before going on a 3-0 run and retaining the lead until senior captain Nick Benson’s final kill clinched the set.

The second set was also a nail-biter, ending with the Violets on top after climbing out of an early 10-4 hole. After fighting back to tie the score at 14 apiece, neither team could claim a comfortable lead as the two battled until the end, with NYU outlasting Marymount 26-24.

It was Marymount’s turn to play catch-up in the third set, and the Saints would not go away easily. The Violets late 23-18 edge was answered by the Saints taking five of the next six point to narrow the lead to 24-23. But a costly service error from the Saints ended their hopes and completed the sweep for NYU.

Benson led the team with 12 kills while junior setters Derrick Chiu and Patrick Merrick had a combined 33 assists. As the regular season draws to a close, Chiu looks for the team to finish strong with the NCAA Tournament around the corner.

“We’re just focused on coming together and playing our best,” Chiu said. “If we do what we’re supposed to do, we should be in a good position to upset some teams and win the tournament.”

The Violets are back in action on Tuesday  when they head over to Mahwah, New Jersey for a match against Ramapo College at 7 p.m.

A version of this article appeared in the April 4 print edition. Email Brandon Herrera at [email protected].