NEW YORK, NY – The 15^th-ranked Nazareth men's volleyball team fell in straight sets to #1-ranked NYU in the Championship game of the UVC on Sunday, 25-21, 26-24, 25-16. Nazareth was making its first appearance in the UVC title game since 2013 when it defeated Stevens 3-0. Owen Wickens and Alex Bertino were named to the UVC All-Tournament Team. 
 
The Golden Flyers are 19-11 overall, while the Violets remain unbeaten at 25-0. NYU has now won back-to-back UVC Championships after defeating Vassar in 2024. 
 
Nazareth will await the selection show on Monday, April 14 at 10 a.m. on NCAA.com to see if it will earn an at-large bid into the NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championships. Coming into the day, the Golden Flyers were ranked 16^thnationally in the NCAA Power Index (NPI).
 
In the opening set, Nazareth trailed by as many as six points at 16-10, but were able to make a set of it. An attack error by the Violets pulled Nazareth to within 23-21 before two-straight points from the host to close out the set. Ryan Murphy had four kills in the set as Nazareth hit .308.
 
A big block by Andrew Bodensteiner, followed by a kill from Wickens gave Nazareth a 7-6 advantage in the second set. Max Stuver gave Nazareth its largest lead after a kill to make it 18-15. The Violets, however, behind a strong serve from Emerson Evans, rattled of four-straight points.
 
Facing two set points, a Bertino kill, followed by a setting error tied the score at 24. NYU, however, scored the next two points to close the set 26-24.
 
Nazareth struggled mightily in the third, only putting down four kills on 20 attempts with eight errors.

If it is the last game for the Golden Flyers, the illustrious career of Owen Wickens will have him as all-time leader at Nazareth in kills (1508), attack attempts (3,470), and service aces (308), while he sits third in digs (799), fourth in sets played (436), and ninth in assists (799).
 
For the final season for head coach Cal Wickens, he sits at 436 wins on the men's side and 407 on the women's side. 
 
Wickens, Murphy and Bertino all finished with seven kills. Bodensteiner hit .571 with five kills on seven attempts.
 
AJ Burda had 22 assists.