#10 NYU TOPS EMMANUEL MEN’S VOLLEYBALL IN FIVE SET THRILLER, 3-2

THE BASICS 

Score: New York University, 3; Emmanuel College, 2 (25-23, 25-23, 23-25, 22-25, 15-10)

Records: New York University Violets (4-2); Emmanuel College Saints (2-3)

Location: Boston, Mass. – Andy Yosinoff Court

Date: Sunday, January 28^th, 2018

THE LEAD: The Emmanuel College Men's Volleyball team pushed tenth ranked NYU to a five set thriller, led by the offensive attack of junior outside hitter Erik English (Simi Valley, Calif.) and blocking effort of middle hitter Alex Silva (Jamaica Plain, Mass) but could not come away with the victory as New York University defeated Emmanuel College, 3-2 (25-23, 25-23, 23-25, 22-25, 15-10), Sunday afternoon in non-conference men's volleyball action.

HOW IT HAPPENED 

SET 1

• The Saints came out strong with a quick 2-0 lead off of a kill by Kevin Orsley (San Jose, Calif.) and service ace by English.
• Both teams battled back and forth for the next few points before NYU went on a four point run, including kills by Adam Lee (Pacific Palisades, Calif.), Matin Bikdeli (Irvine, Calif.), Adam Zhu (Saratoga, Calif.) and Neil Ferraro (Newton, Mass.), 12-8.
• NYU was able to hold at least a four point lead until the Saints closed the lead at 22-20, led by sophomore outside hitter John Carroll (Massapequa, N.Y.) and sophomore setter Seamus McDonagh (Long Beach, N.Y.), before the Violets were able to close out the set on a pair of kills by Brendan Duggan (Newton, Mass.) and Evan Lindley (Evanston, Ill.), 25-23.

SET 2

• McDonagh started the match off for the Saints with a service ace before Lee of NYU recorded a kill and service ace of his own to take the lead 2-1.
• The Violets continued to hold control of the set, extending their lead to three before English recorded a kill, assisted by McDonagh to bring the Saints back to within one, 11-10.
• Kevin Orsley (San Jose, Calif.) recorded two aces late in the set to bring the Saints within reach, 23-22, before the Violets closed out the set on a kill by Lindley, 25-23.

SET 3

• Neil Ferraro (Newton, Mass.) of the Violets controlled the first portion of the match, recording three kills and a dig to take the lead over the Saints, 8-6.
• Emmanuel was able to tie the set at 10 and take the lead, 11-10, off of a combined block by Orsley and Silva.
• The Saints controlled the lead until NYU was able to tie it up at 17-17, when both teams traded the lead back and forth until the Saints closed out the set on a 5-1 run, led by a pair of kills by Manuel Velez (San Jose, Costa Rica), 25-23.

SET 4

• The Violets took a quick 3-0 lead off of a combined block by Duggan and Ferraro and a kill by Duggan before the Saints tied up the set at three with a block by Silva.
• The Saints continued to use that momentum through the next eleven points, taking the lead 14-9 due to two recorded kills by McDonagh and Silva, service ace by Carroll, and combined block by Silva and McDonagh.
• NYU closed and took the lead at 16-15 after a straight four points, three of which were attacking errors by the Saints.
• Both teams traded the lead once again through the end of the set until the Saints took a 24-21 lead off of a kill by Velez and pushed the match to a fifth set off of a kill by English, assisted by McDonagh, 25-22.

SET 5

• NYU came out of the break with a quick 4-1 lead with a kill by Lindley and Ethan Talkov (Swampscott, Mass.) before the Saints closed the lead to only one point, 6-5, off of an assisted block by Velez and Carroll.
• English led the Saints back to tie the set at seven a piece with a kill, and continued to extend the lead to 9-8 before the Violets tied the set back at 9-9.
• The Violets finished off the set on a 6-1 run, closing out the match with an assisted block by Lindley and Talkov and kill by Lee, 15-10.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Ferraro recorded a game-high 20 kills for the Violets, with a hitting percentage of .395, along with four digs and four blocks.
• English pushed the offensive attack of the Saints, recording a team-high 17 kills and seven digs.
• The Violets were able to record a team .206 hitting percentage, while the Saints only recorded a .092 kill percentage on the day.

UP NEXT

• Emmanuel is back in action next weekend when the Saints travel to Albany, N.Y for a tri-match against Sage and Wells College on Saturday, February 3.
• NYU is idle until Thursday, February 8 when the Violets play host to Baruch College at 8:00 PM at the Hunter Sportsplex.