The NYU men's volleyball team used to wonder whether it was performing at its full potential. But after Saturday's 3-0 win over St. Francis College in the EIVA/NCAA East Regional Tournament quarterfinals, the question becomes more speculative: How far can the team go if it does?
Junior tri-captain Devin Zolnowski hit a career-best .522 with 14 kills, and senior tri-captain Jonathan Wintermeyer added 12 kills on 19 attempts as NYU provided at least a provisional answer, stunning the Red Flash 30-26, 30-21, 30-20 in Loretto, Pa.
The Violets (23-7), seeded No. 8 in the eight-team tournament, have now defeated the No. 5 and No. 6 seeds in consecutive games and will face Penn State University, ranked No. 1 in the country, in the semifinals Thursday.
"It's probably one of the biggest wins in NYU history," Zolnowski said. "[St. Francis] was supposed to kill us."
St. Francis, one of the eight Division-I programs in the EIVA, swept the Violets when the teams last met Feb. 2. By taking the rematch, NYU is now 5-0 this season when given the chance to avenge one of its earlier losses.
The Violets' effort was not immediately punitive, though, as they made nine service errors in the first game. After escaping with a four-point win, NYU was much sharper in games two and three, hitting a combined .500.
"We played really well," Wintermeyer said. "It's not only great now, but it's great for the program. With all these wins, we're getting more exposure."
Last Wednesday, NYU became the first EIVA Hay Division team to upset a team from the higher-ranking Tait Division in the history of the EIVA Tournament, edging Juniata College in five games. That win qualified the Violets for Saturday's quarterfinal match, in which they replicated the feat against St. Francis.
"We're not that surprised, but at the same time, we are a little bit," Wintermeyer said.
The win was head coach Jose Pina's 200th with the team, which he took over in 1994.
NYU's semifinal matchup with Penn State gets under way Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in University Park, Pa.
Mason Felton-Reid is sports editor. E-mail him at sports@nyunews.com.
