Down two sets to none, the New York University women's volleyball team rallied against St. Lawrence University to win the 2009 New York State Regional Challenge on Sunday, Nov. 1, on the campus of Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY.
The Violets (26-7) fell behind early and dropped the first two sets. However, the team rallied against the Lady Saints (28-6), holding them to just 24 kills over the final three sets to take the match 3-2 (19-25, 23-25, 25-16, 25-12, 15-7).
Overall, the Violets out-killed St. Lawrence 64-53 and out-dug them 95-92.
"It was great to solidify our position in the New York Region this weekend," said head coach Ed Caesar. "We played well in all four matches and we feel very good about where we stand right now."
Named Most Valuable Player of the tournament, freshman Kendyl Dunn led the Violets with 18 kills in the match. She hit .395 while adding three service aces, seven digs and two blocks. For the weekend, Dunn led the team with 43 kills and hit .412 with six service aces and seven blocks.
Also in double-digits for NYU was freshman Alexa Carrasco, who tallied 10 kills and added five digs. Over the course of the weekend, Carrasco notched 39 kills, second best on the team, along with three service aces and 20 digs.
Putting together her 10th double-double of the season, sophomore captain Elizabeth Dick put down 15 kills along with 20 digs. In the four matches over the weekend, she finished third on the team with 35 kills and put up 54 digs.
Also named to the All-Tournament Team, sophomore setter Mina Baban put together a strong all-around performance with eight kills, 49 assists and 15 digs. For the weekend, she tallied 121 assists, five service aces and 23 digs.
On the defensive side of the ball, junior Rachel Sawyer reached a career milestone as she set the NYU career rally-scoring record for digs. Sawyer, who tallied 13 digs against St. Lawrence and 42 over the course of the weekend, now has 1,263 for her career. Also, with 427 digs on the season, she has tied her career high for digs in a season and becomes the only Violet in rally-scoring history to record three seasons of 400 digs or more.
"It is a great achievement for Sawyer to break the digs record," Caesar said. "She's been a core component of our back row defense for three years now. She is also our toughest server and brings a lot to the game that sometimes gets lost behind her great dig numbers."
Also in double-digits on defense for the Violets was freshman libero Alexis Schwartz, who put up a match-high 21. For the weekend, Schwartz led the team with 55 digs.
For the Lady Saints, Nyasha Miller recorded 16 kills while Katherine Pierce added 28 digs.
In the Violets' first match of the day, NYU team swept Lycoming College to win Pool B.
The Violets surpassed their 2008 win total by sweeping the Lady Warriors (11-20) 3-0 (25-12, 25-14, 25-12) in one hour.
Carrasco recorded her second double-digit kill performance of the season as she led all players with 10 kills while also adding five digs and a block.
Dick put together a strong all-around match, tallying six kills while adding a team-high 16 digs.
Also in double-digits on defense was Schwartz, who tallied 15.
For the Lady Warriors, Kelly Rose put down seven kills while Emily Abel tallied a match-high 19 digs.
The Violets return to action next Friday, Nov. 6, when they travel to Chicago, IL, to take part in the 2009 University Athletic Association Volleyball Championship. NYU is in Pool B and will play the University of Rochester and Case Western Reserve University on Friday, and Washington University on Saturday.
"I think we put ourselves in a great position," concluded Caesar. "We should be very prepared for the UAA's next week."
