Women's Volleyball Sweeps Through Day 1 of the Labor Day Invitational

Violets Go 3-0 Without Loosing A Set On Saturday

Junior Rachel Sawyer recorded 22 digs and eight service aces on the first day of the Labor Day Invitational.

The New York University women's volleyball team defeated SUNY Geneseo in straight sets to finish undefeated on the first day of the NYU Labor Day Invitational, Saturday, Sept. 5, at the Coles Sports Center in Manhattan.

Led by stellar debut performances from freshmen Kendyl Dunn and Natalie Fernandez, the Violets (3-0) defeated the Knights (2-2) 3-0 (25-14, 25-21, 26-24) to complete a day in which the team did not drop a single set.

Dunn, who finished the day with a team-high 34 kills while hitting .552, notched a match-high 13 kills and hit .462 while putting back four blocks.

Fernandez, who finished the day second on the team with 24 kills as well as a team-high 10 service aces, tallied a season-best 12 kills against the Knights while also putting up six service aces and four digs.

On the defensive side of the ball, sophomore captain Elizabeth Dick led the team with 15 digs while junior Rachel Sawyer added 10. Dick finished the day with a team-high 25 digs while Sawyer finished in second with 22.

Sophomore Mina Baban also completed a strong first day of play by putting up 27 assists along with seven kills and five digs. Baban finished the day with 68 assists in seven sets along with 12 kills while hitting .800.

For the Knights, junior Krista Frieling led the team with 10 kills while senior Jess McKenna tallied 10 digs.

In their first match of the 2009 campaign, the Violets easily put aside Rutgers University-Newark in straight sets.

The Violets dominated play from the first serve, defeating the Scarlet Raiders (0-4) in 57 minutes 3-0 (25-10, 25-12, 25-13).

Leading the way on offense for NYU was Dunn, who recorded eight kills while hitting .571 in two sets. Also strong on offense was fellow freshman Shelby Oliver, who also notched eight kills while also recording eight digs.

Making a strong debut on defense, freshman Alexis Schwartz recorded a team-high nine digs in only one set of action.

For the Scarlet Raiders, sophomore Toni Moppert led the way on both offense and defense, recording four kills and nine digs.

In the team's second match of the day, NYU defeated the Polytechnic Institute of NYU for its second victory of the day.

The Violets controlled the pace of play from the beginning, rolling past the Fighting Blue Jays (1-1) 3-0 (25-7, 25-13, 25-16) in just 50 minutes.

Building off of her impressive rookie debut, Dunn recorded a match-high 13 kills while hitting a team-best .667.

Also pacing the offense for the Violets was Dick, who put down seven kills along with seven digs.
Fernandez provided a strong presence at the opposite position, putting down eight kills while adding eight digs and two service aces.

Sawyer also provided some strong defensive play, putting up seven digs while adding two service aces.
For the Fighting Blue Jays, junior Meredith Shipman led the way with four kills while senior Jackie Johnson put up eight digs.

The Violets return to action tomorrow morning when they take on The Sage Colleges at 10:00 am. NYU will finish up the Labor Day Invitational by taking on Hunter College at 2:00 pm. Live stats will be available for both matches.