BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher College men's volleyball team defeated the number-one ranked team in the nation-New York University at the Violets' Brooklyn Athletic Facility on Saturday. The Cardinals, ranked 10th in the NVA/AVCA Division III Men's Coaches Poll, came back from down two sets to win in five sets (22-25, 25-27, 27-25, 26-24, 19-17) in a United Volleyball Conference matchup.

Fisher's record is now 13-2 on the year and 2-1 in conference. NYU takes its first loss of the season with a record of now 12-1 and a 3-1 in league play.

Josh Bigford had a game-high 25 kills with seven digs and three total blocks for the Cardinals. Matt Beiter had a career-high 14 kills with five digs and three total blocks. Paul Hackford earned a season-high 55 assists to go along with six kills, six digs and a game-high two service aces.

The first two sets were both tight affairs with the Violets coming out victorious in each of them. With their backs against the wall, the Cardinals took an early 3-1 lead and then went up 10-6. NYU would tie it at 16-all and then even took the advantage at 23-22. The Cardinals had to fight off two match points but were able to turn things it their favor with Beiter earning a kill that made it 26-25. Hackford would set up Bigford for set point to send the match to the fourth.

The fourth set featured a few runs by the Violets, however, Fisher had an answer each time to keep things close. A 4-0 run by the Cardinals put them in front 23-23 but NYU returned with three-straight points to make it 24-23 and give the Violets another match point. NYU would commit a service error and Fisher took advantage by winning the next two points to claim the fourth set and force a deciding fifth set.

Fisher controled the early portion of the final set with gaining a four-point lead at 12-8. A Bigford kill would give the Cardinals three match points at 14-11, though NYU fought them all off to keep the match going. Both teams would exchange points a few times to settle the score at 17-all. Bigford had another huge kill to take a 18-17 edge and Fisher would win the following point to earn the upset and complete the comeback.

In the final set, the Cardinals had 13 kills and only one error. At the net, Ivan Lopez had a season-high eight total blocks to lead Fisher. Matt Broderick had a team-high and season-high 13 digs in the match. Eric Bentivegna set a new career-high with eight kills while hitting .538 on the day. Bentivegna also added four total blocks. This was the Cardinals' first win over a number-one ranked team in program history.

The Cardinals continue their spring break trip as they head up to Massachusetts to face Springfield College on Tuesday for a 6 p.m. start time.