The result means York are still relegation-bound and must win their final match against Manchester 1sts to have any hope of staying in the Northern 1A league.
In the first set, York were all over the place. They were unable to make simple digs or produce many devastating spikes, and Northumbria did not have to play particularly well to run out emphatic winners, 25-6.
At the start of the second set, York improved and stayed in the rallies longer although Northumbria still raced to a 4-0 lead.
Jonas Polex was showing some promise by executing a few slams. In addition, the York players were getting more blocks in and the score was a more competitive 18-14.
However, after this point Northumbria won seven of the next eight points as they secured the second set 2-1. As York lost confidence, the third set was merely a conclusion to the formalities as Northumbria won 25-14.
Afterwards, York captain Chris Stent said: ‘We can take a lot of positives, especially in the third set, going into our next big match against Manchester next week.’