The New York University women's volleyball team moved on in the 2018 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship, defeating Misericordia University in the quarterfinal round of the tournament on Saturday, November 10, at Cabrini University in Radnor, PA.

NYU (20-16) defeated the Cougars (25-11) in three sets (25-17, 25-21, 25-18).

The Violets trailed the opening set 7-2, but battled back to tie the frame at 11 before taking control and leading by as many as nine en route to a 25-17 victory to go ahead 1-0 in the match.

In set number two, it was NYU who raced out to an early lead and Misericordia who came back to tie it up at 9-9. From there, the Violets scored seven of the next eight points to take a comfortable lead and ultimately took the set 25-21.

The Violets used a 5-0 run early in the third set to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 6-3 lead. The teams traded points for a bit and eventually the score was tied 15-15 when NYU scored eight straight to go ahead 23-15. The Violets eventually clinched the set, 25-18, on an attack error by the Cougars.

"The team did a good job adjusting early after Misericordia came out swinging," said Head Coach Andrew Brown. "We took advantage stringing points together mid-set to separate in games one and two. Misericordia did a great job and put up a strong fight in the third set. They put pressure on us to earn points on defense and control our siding-out and offensive system."

Abby Ausmus once again led NYU in kills with nine, while Nazzerine Waldon chipped in with eight. Stella Alverson (15 assists) and Katie Goyette (10 assists) shared the setting duties, while Jacqueline Kupeli led the way with 16 digs. 

"Tomorrow we will look to continue our strong play by setting the tone with our pre-match warm up," Brown explained.

The Violets return to the court for the semifinals tomorrow when they take on the host Cavaliers at 11am. If they win the semifinal match, the squad will play for the championship at 5pm.