The New York University women's volleyball team opened up University Athletic Association (UAA) play on Saturday, October 1, with a pair of matches at the Association's first round robin event hosted by Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. NYU dropped both of its matches on Saturday, falling to Case Western Reserve University in four sets, before dropping a straight-set match to seventh-ranked Emory University.

Saturday's losses were the Violets' first since September 10 as they had won their previous nine matches.

"We stayed aggressive in rallies throughout the day and served tough in both matches," explained NYU Head Coach Jolie Ward. " One thing we struggled with, however, was consistency with our serve recieve."

NYU (13-5, 0-2 UAA) won the first set against Case Western, but the Spartans (13-4, 1-1) rallied back to take the next three sets. The Violets hit just .141 in their first UAA game of the year, while Case Western hit .163.

Emory showed why its ranked among the nation's best Division III volleyball squads, racing out to a 25-15 first-set win. NYU fought hard in the second frame, falling 25-22, before the Eagles (13-3, 2-0 UAA) clinched the match with a 25-11 third-set win.

Highlights vs. CWRU

- Annie Singh recorded a team-best 14 kills for the Violets.

- Daryl Mitchell (17) and Katie Goyette (13) both dished out double-digit assists.

- Gretchen Cash paced NYU up front with five total blocks.

- Paighton Miller led the squad with 21 digs.

Highlights vs. Emory

- Shelby King led the Violets with 11 kills.

- Zel Fortson's 17 assists were tops for NYU.

- Miller once again led the squad in digs, this time chipping in with 16.

"We're executing well when we stay in system and that will be our goal heading into tomorrow's match," concluded Ward.

The Violets wrap up play in Pittsburgh tomorrow when take they on UAA-rival the University of Rochester at 10am.