SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — No. 6 Cal Lutheran men's volleyball continued to roll as they defeated No. 10 NYU 3-1 on Sunday morning. Scores of the match were 33-31, 22-25, 25-21, 25-22.

The Kingsmen are off to an unprecedented start and have defeated five ranked opponents to kickstart their 2024 campaign. They improved to 6-1 as they won all three matches at the UC Santa Cruz Slug Slam.

Jordan Cooper and Michael Stahl led the way with 16 and 15 kills, respectively. Taylor Marks led the offense and defense as he recorded his first double-double of the year. He dished out 31 assists, recorded 17 digs, and added six total blocks. The defense showed out as Logan Marks, Stahl, and Ben Weber had 12 digs each. Stahl had his first double-double for the Kingsmen and Noah Rigo matched T. Marks with six total blocks. 

It was a marathon first set as the Kingsmen took an early lead with a 33-31 win. NYU took an early lead and was up by as much as 13-7. The Kingsmen crawled back but were still down 22-20. They eventually climbed back and tied the set at 24 and it was tied to 31. Borys Horiuk had the kill to give the Kingsmen the lead and Rigo and Weber capped off the big set win with a block. 

The Violets answered back in the second set and tied the match at 1-1. In the third set, the Kingsmen jumped out to a 5-2 lead. They continued to hold the lead and were up 16-14 after a kill from Horiuk. With the score tied at 18-18, the Kingsmen went on a 4-0 run and grabbed the lead. Rigo recorded a kill and combined with Cooper with two kills during the run. The Kingsmen never looked back and took a 2-1 match lead. 

The third set was tied at 19-19 when the Kingsmen made their final move. A 4-1 run gave them the lead for good. Weber and Stahl both recorded a kill and Vince Semon served an ace. The Kingsmen held the lead the rest of the way and picked up another important win. 

The Kingsmen continue the season on the road. They are at North Central on Friday for a game at 5 p.m. CT.