NEW YORK, NY - In a battle between two top teams, the #6-ranked New York University men's volleyball team fell to #1-ranked Springfield College on Saturday, February 21, at the John A. Paulson Center. NYU captured the first set 25-23, before Springfield battled back to win the second 31-29. The Violets bested them in the third, 25-22, but the Pride were able to win the next two sets, 25-18, 16-14, to win. 

In a competitive first set, the visiting Springfield took a quick lead but the Violets battled back to tie the game at 21-21. A kill by Emerson Evans gave them their first lead which helped the Violets seal the set. 

Evans got the Violets on the board first in set two, with four quick points but the lead was short lived as the teams went on to tie 20 times, with the lead changing nine times throughout the set. 

Set three was an uphill battle after going down 8-2 to begin but back-to-back aces and a kill from Evans game tied things up. Charlie Clifford dished up a kill and an ace of his own to give them the lead which they went on to win.

Clifford got the Violets on the board to start set four, but once the Pride got ahead they never trailed.

In the final set, the teams tied 11 times, keeping it close. With the game tied at 14-14, the Pride edged out the win with two more points. 

Clifford and Evans both ended the match with 20 kills. 

Devyn Nguyen collected 47 assists. 

Evans had a team high four blocks, while Cade Miller added three. 

The Violets return to the court to take on New Jersey City University on Thursday, February 26, at 7:00 pm in Jersey City, NJ.