Women's Volleyball Finishes the Weekend a Perfect 5-0

Violets Do Not Drop a Set on Their Way to the Labor Day Tournament Title

Sophomore Mina Baban, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, average 9.82 assists per set on the weekend.

The New York University completed their perfect weekend by sweeping Hunter College for the NYU Labor Day Invitational Tournament title, Sunday, Sept. 6, at the Coles Sports Center in Manhattan.

The Violets (5-0) defeated the Hawks (2-5) 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-20) to go a perfect 15-0 in sets on the weekend.

“I'm very happy with the progress that this team is making,” commented head coach Ed Caesar after the match. “We still have a lot of work to do but we made great strides this weekend and it's only going to get better as the season progresses.”

Recording her fourth consecutive double-digit kills match, Labor Day Invitational MVP Kendyl Dunn put down a team-high 11 kills while adding one service ace and three blocks. For the weekend, Dunn tallied a team-high 57 kills while hitting .520 along with 10 blocks.

Fellow freshman Natalie Fernandez, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, put down seven kills against the Hawks to finish the weekend second on the team in kills with 35 while also adding a team-best 16 service aces.

Joining Fernandez on the All-Tournament Team was sophomore setter Mina Baban, who put up 20 assists against Hunter to finish the tournament with 108. Baban also notched 18 kills without an error for a .750 hitting percentage.

On the defensive side of the ball, freshman Britney Messier and sophomore captain Elizabeth Dick both tallied a team-high seven digs. For the weekend, Dick recorded a team-high 36 digs along with 29 kills while Messier finished second with 31 digs.

For the Hawks, senior Karolina Koguc led the team on both offense and defense, putting down eight kills along with seven digs.

In the team's first match of the day, the Violets defeated the Sage Colleges in straight sets.

NYU made quick work of the 2008 NCAA Tournament qualifying Gators (1-3) 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 15-20).

Dunn continued her impressive first weekend of play, leading the team in kills for the fourth straight match, tallying 12 while adding three service aces and two blocks.

Dick was also in double-digits on offense, putting down 11 kills while also adding four digs.

On the defensive side of the ball, Messier put up a match-high 16 digs while adding a season-best two service aces.

For the Gators, junior All-Tournament team member Sarah Peacock led the team on both offense and defense, tallying 10 kills and 13 digs.

The Violets return to the court next weekend when they travel to Rochester, NY to take part in Nazareth College Golden Flyer Invitational. NYU will take on SUNY New Paltz at 4:00 pm and SUNY Fredonia at 8:00 pm on Friday.