Lions Upset No. 9 New York University

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Penn State Behrend men's volleyball team defeated their first-ranked opponent this season, handing No. 9 New York University a 3-2 loss in United Volleyball Conference (UVC) action on Sunday.

The Lions (5-2, 3-1 UVC) went back and forth with the Violets (6-3, 2-2 UVC) in the five-set win (21-25, 25-22, 14-25, 25-20, 15-10) making the final two sets count. The victory marks the second time in program history Behrend has defeated NYU. The Lions upset the Violets in the first round of the UVC Championships in 2012.

Nathan Steele (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) knocked down 15 kills on 29 attempts (.345) to go with six digs and three blocks. Colin Ingram (Hilliard, OH/Hilliard Darby) tallied 19 assists and Mitch Farabaugh (North Huntingdon, PA/Norwin) was one behind with 18.

After being knotted at 18 in the first set, NYU went on to win seven of the next 10 points and take the set 25-21. Behrend led by five points in the second set at 22-17 and then took advantage of three errors by the Violets to capture the win, 25-22.

After NYU cruised to a 25-14, Behrend answered in the fourth with the same intensity they had in the second set. The Lions did not let the Violets regain the lead after the first point to earn a 25-20 win and force a fifth set.

Behrend used the momentum from the fourth set to start the fifth game with a five-point run behind two kills from Steele and one from Kevin Smith (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin). The Lions kept the Violets at an arm's length for the remaining 10 points.

Antonio Vazquez (San Juan, Puerto Rico/UHS) added nine kills and Ty Sheehan (Cochranton, PA/Cochranton) contributed eight digs, six kills, four blocks and two assists.

Behrend returns to action on Wednesday at Thiel. Match begins at 7 p.m.