The New York University men’s volleyball team, ranked eighth nationally, secured a home victory against the fourth-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology on Tuesday, March 3. The Violets won in straight sets with scores of 25-23, 25-21, and 27-25.
The match was closely contested throughout. In the first set, there were 11 ties and six lead changes. Stevens started strong with a 6-2 advantage before NYU narrowed the gap. The teams remained close until late in the set when NYU finished with a decisive run, highlighted by consecutive kills from Charlie Clifford.
The second set continued in similar fashion, with neither side gaining more than a one-point lead until late. After being tied at 16-16, Stevens briefly pulled ahead but NYU responded with an 8-2 run to take the set. Veer Agarwal contributed three kills during this stretch.
In the third set, NYU maintained a lead for much of the time but faced pressure as Stevens rallied late to go up 21-20. NYU then won four out of five rallies to reach match point. Although Stevens fought back to force extra points, NYU closed out the match with three consecutive points thanks to a block by Emerson Evans and Agarwal.
Clifford led all players with 15 kills and hit .433 for the match. Agarwal had seven kills without an error for a perfect hitting percentage. Both Evans and Bennet Tchaikovsky recorded 15 digs each.
NYU is scheduled to play its next match against Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Saturday, March 7 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
