The New York University women's volleyball team moved on in the 2018 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship, defeating Mount Saint Mary in the first round of the tournament on Wednesday, November 7, at the Brooklyn Athletic Facility.

NYU (19-16) defeated the Knights (18-15) in three sets (25-12, 25-17, 25-16).

"We took care of business tonight," said NYU Head Coach Andrew Brown. "Anytime you win a postseason match 3-0, it is a good performance."

The Violets had their best offensive performance since their season opener as they attacked at a .369 clip, just .07 less than their first win of the year against Eastern Nazarene. Wednesday's offensive showcase was the fourth time this season that NYU hit over .300.

Leading the way offensively for the Violets were a pair of freshmen, Emily Kleck and Maddie DeJong, who hit an impressive .875 and .750, respectively. The duo each finished with seven kills and were part of a balanced NYU offense that featured six players with at least six kills.

"Our freshmen have done a great job this season at learning what it takes to play at this level," added Brown. "They've adjusted well to playing in the top conference in Division III and a big reason why is our upperclassmen have done a great job paving the way and leading them."

Stella Alverson (20 assists) and Katie Goyette (16 assists) shared the setting duties, while Jacqueline Kupeli led the squad with 16 digs. At the net, Gretchen Kincade provided steady defense with a match-high five total blocks. 

"There is still plenty of fine-tuning to do these next few days," concluded Brown. "We understand our competition will get stronger as the tournament moves forward."

The eight remaining teams in the ECAC Championship will head to Cabrini College this weekend for the remainder of the tournament. NYU's quarterfinal match will take place at 2pm on Saturday against Misericordia University.