How will you spend your Thanksgiving break?
After taking the first two games with ease, the members of the NYU men's volleyball team decided to mix things up and trade positions with each other in the third game of a match against a winless Southampton College last night.
Even with the unusual lineup, the Violets took the final game and completed a sweep of the Colonials at Coles Sports Center.
In the final set, junior defenseman Tony Spangler played for the offense as an outside hitter while the coaches sent sophomore Patrick Fenton and freshmen Brandon Mortenson and Anthony Pancella from the bench onto the court to relieve some starters.
Sophomore Daniel Brown, who usually plays as a middle blocker, said he appreciated the change of pace as he took on an outside hitter position.
'We were having fun with it,' he said. 'I played another position, and I got to pass. I never get to do that. Spangler got to hit, which he was really happy to get a chance to do.'
In a seemingly endless third game, NYU needed four match points before it could close out Southampton 40-38.
'At that point, we were just saying, 'OK, it's time to catch up and win,'' Brown said. '[Southampton was] making many mistakes, but we just couldn't execute and pass their serve.'
Fenton, an opposite hitter, played as an outside hitter for the first time this season.
'If there was any game we were going to do this for him, this would be it,' Assistant Coach Karl France said. 'We decided to do some experimenting because we have a lot of faith in our guys.'
The Violets rank fourth in the NCAA Division III in the latest edition of the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 15 Poll, and remain undefeated in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Hay Division with a 9-0 record. NYU's overall record improved to 13-5 last night.
The volleyball squad will play the University of New Haven Thursday night in New Haven, Conn. The Violets return home this weekend for two Hay Division match ups, playing Queens College on Saturday and Roger Williams University on Sunday at Coles.
