Kingsmen Wrap Up CLU Invitational With No. 13 NYU

Kingsmen Wrap Up CLU Invitational With No. 13 NYU

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.— The Cal Lutheran men's volleyball team ended the CLU Invitational with a tough test and fell to No. 13 New York U. in straight sets, 26-28, 15-25, 18-25, on Saturday night.

The Kingsmen finished the invitational 2-1, sweeping Fontbonne and Vassar, and is now 5-3. New York U. opened the season at the invitational and are 2-0. 

It was a rough night for the Kingsmen as they totaled 24 attacking errors and had an attack percentage of .044. CLU started the match strong, hitting .314 in the first set, but followed it up with -.185 in the second and -.069 in the third. Cal Lutheran has also been strong at the net to start the year, but the Violets had the Kingsmen's number and tallied 10 total blocks compared to CLU's four.

The first set opened with NYU taking a 10-7 lead, as CLU quickly stormed back to tie it at 10. Patrick Rowe and Andrew Reina tallied kills during the run and Rowe added a solo block. A little bit later in the set, the Kingsmem took their lead at 18-15, but just like CLU did before, NYU was there for the answer. The score would then be tied from 20-20 all the way to 26-26. The Violets had the final say after that and ended the set with two kills. 

The second set was all about NYU as the Violets took a quick 5-2 lead. They kept the pressure on the Kingsmen and were up 14-6 a few plays later. NYU kept piling on the points and were up 24-10. Cal Lutheran put on a run to end the set, but were defeated 25-15. 

Cal Lutheran was looking to push the match to a fourth set and jumped out to a 13-7 lead. However, they could not hold off the Violets as NYU scored six straight points and tied the score. With the score then tied at 17, NYU put the finishing touches on the set. The Violets scored eight of the next nine points, won the third set and swept the Kingsmen. 

Connor Hinthorn tallied the most kills for CLU with eight and Nick Christy was next with six and hit with a .625 clip. Rowe and Reina were both next with five. 

Blake Zingerman started the match at setter and Jacob Cudiamat also got some time. Zingerman recorded 16 assists and Cudiamat tallied seven and four digs. His four digs were a team-high and also tied Rowe , Reina and Eli Moore

The Kingsmen have some time before they try and bounce back with a win. Cal Lutheran will remain at home for its next match and host Carthage (Wis.) on January 31 at 7 p.m. The Kingsmen will also be on the road for an exhibition at CSUN on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Box Score: No. 13 NYU 3, CLU 0
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director