NEW YORK, N.Y. – Cal Lutheran men's volleyball took down the once undefeated regional host, No. 1 New York University to move on to the Final Four on Saturday evening.

The Kingsmen handed the Violets their first loss since April 26, 2024 with set scores of 18-25, 25-22, 28-26, 25-20. With the upset, Cal Lu moves to 23-6 on the season and extends its win streak to four matches.

After the contest, Michael Stahl, Borys Horiuk, Ben Weber, and Braden Gonzales were announced to the All-Regional Team for their dominance across the two games.

Stahl led with 18 kills while hitting .350 percent on the night. He also added an assist, a block, and eight digs to his stat line. Jordan Cooper was next with 14 kills and Weber contributed 11. Horiuk was strong out of the middle, hitting .417 and collecting 3 blocks, and Gonzales posted a team-high 16 digs.

The match started almost exactly the same as the night before, as the Kingsmen utilized the first set to adjust to NYU's style of play.

Down one, the Purple & Gold made the necessary adjustments and came out swinging in the second set. The Kingsmen were gifted their first three points on Violet errors before Stahl fired his first kill of the set to take a 4-2 lead.

The teams went on to trade points but Cal Lu always held the advantage, as NYU struggled at the service line and to defend the Kingsmen attack. Down by four, the Violets attempted a comeback run that was interrupted by a kill from Horiuk. Weber swung another to take it to set point and it ended in Cal Lu's favor on an NYU error.

The third set opened up with the squads evenly exchanging two points apiece. Tied at four, the Kingsmen went on a 6-2 run highlighted by back-to-back kills from Horiuk, another from Cooper, and a block by Gavin Galanski and Parker Brown.

The Violets rallied to take back their lead at 17-16, but Cal Lu hung right there with them, working for nine different ties as the set progressed. Finally at 25-25, the Kingsmen took the lead with a kill from Stahl. NYU responded with a point to even the score again, but a service error and a Cooper kill ended it in extras.

Up two sets to one, Cal Lutheran was on fire to start the fourth. Stahl kicked things off with two kills and a block alongside Brown to give the Kingsmen a three-point advantage. The Violets fought back to take the lead at 10-9, but it was all Purple & Gold from there as Stahl swung three kills and Brown, Cooper, and Horiuk added one each.

Ahead by three, Cooper ended the set and the match with a kill and a laser ace from the service line, keeping the Kingsmen alive.

Cal Lutheran will return home for just a few days before heading back east for the Final Four. They will take on Springfield College for the semifinal round in Salem, Virginia on Friday, April 25 at 4:30 PM PT. 

Watch Cal Lutheran's postgame press conference here, featuring Head Coach Kevin Judd, Weber, and Gonzales.