NO. 9 NYU SWEEPS MEN’S VOLLEYBALL, 3-0

BOSTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College men's volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-14) decision to New York University Sunday afternoon at the Jean Yawkey Center Gymnasium. The Violets, who were ranked No. 9 in the most recent AVCA national poll, improve to 4-1 on the year while the loss drops the Saints record to 1-1.

EC junior setter Sean Baxley (Saint James, N.Y.) reeled off back-to-back aces to give the Saints an early 4-2 lead in the opening set. A tip by junior outside hitter Ashanti Jackson (Sacramento, Calif.) made it 9-7 but NYU sophomore outside hitter Colin LaPorte (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) lifted the visitors ahead at 12-11 with a kill. The Saints regained a two-point advantage following a solo block from sophomore middle Garrett McGarry (Chicago, Ill.) to make it 16-14 and force the Violets to burn a timeout and out of the break, McGarry and Jackson combined for a double-block to make it 17-14. The net presence continued as McGarry and Baxley made it 19-15 with another double-block. The Violets pulled to within one at 19-18 behind the service of freshman opposite Will Kozloski (Glenview Ill.) and would even the match at 20-20 on a block by freshman outside hitter Chase Klein and sophomore middle Phil Bueno (Edison, N.J.). Bueno gave NYU a 23-22 cushion with a roll shot before Jackson hammered home a cross court kill to make it 23-all. Another Bueno kill made it set-point for the Violets who took advantage of an Emmanuel hitting error to end the set, 25-23.

The squads traded points in the early goings of set two before Bueno reeled off back-to-back aces to make it 9-7, NYU. An ace from LaPorte extended the lead to 13-8 but Emmanuel would stay within striking distance as a kill from junior middle hitter Wyatt Cooper (Ridgefield, Conn.) pulled EC to within two at 15-13. An ace from EC junior outside hitter Zach Whitermore (Whitehall, Pa.) made it 16-15 but the Violets reeled off three straight points to make it 19-15, forcing the Saints to spend a timeout. Out of the timeout, EC pulled within two following a McGarry and Kessler block at 19-17 before the teams exchanged service errors to account for a 20-18 NYU lead. Emmanuel was unable to make up the deficit as the Violets held on for a 25-20 victory.

NYU took control of the third set action and never looked back after coming out of the gates with a 5-1 lead. A kill from Klein made it 7-2 forcing EC to call a timeout in hopes to turn things around. A Klein ace and a hitting error by the hosts made it 10-3. Emmanuel was never able to rebound for the early deficit as NYU would end the set on a kill from freshman Stephen Tan (Pacifica, Calif.).

Klein finished the afternoon with a match-high 12 kills while hitting .588 from the floor. Bueno chipped in with nine kills and senior setter Connor Mortland (San Diego, Calif.) dished out a match-high 34 assists.

For the Saints, Cooper wrapped the match with a team-best eight kills and Baxley dished out 21 helpers in his season debut.

The Saints return to action on Saturday, February 8 when they host Endicott and Elms College for afternoon matches beginning at 1:00 PM. NYU in back on Tuesday at 7:00 PM when they play host to Kean University.