The New York University women's volleyball team faced two opponents on Saturday, August 31, at their Brooklyn Athletic Facility in Brooklyn, NY, and came away with two victories. The Violets defeated Wheaton College and Pratt Institute by identical 3-0 scores.  

"To win in straight straight in all of our opening matches this weekend says a lot about the strength of our team," said Head Coach Andrew Brown. "I feel confident that we've set a strong tone with our front-line blocking."

The opening match against Wheaton (2-1) featured a battle of un-beatens, with the Violets (3-0) sweeping their opponent 25-17, 25-21, 25-17.

Trailing by two points early in the first set, NYU took its first lead at 5-4 and never trailed again. Ahead by just one, 13-12, the Violets scored the next four points and went on to lead by as many as nine.

NYU again fell behind by two points early in set two, but went on to lead by five points on several occasions. After the Lyons cut their deficit to two, 23-21, a Wheaton attack error followed by Haley Holz's (Palatine, IL /Palatine) kill thwarted the comeback attempt.

The Violets again trailed early in the final set, this time by only one point, but eventually snapped a 7-7 tie with a five-point run. NYU increased its lead to as many as 10 points before settling for the eight-point, final-set victory.  

Gretchen Kincade (Franklin Lakes, NJ/Ramapo) recorded a match-high 10 kills, while Holz finished with eight to go along with six service aces. Veronica Johnson (Santa Monica, CA/Santa Monica) (15) and Nicole Dao (Bethesda, MD/The Academy of Holy Cross) (13) each had double-digit assists. Jacqueline Kupeli (Danville, CA/Monte Vista) had 18 digs with Johnson (13) and Dao (11) also recording double digits.

Against Pratt, the Violets completed the sweep with scores of 25-18, 25-21, 25-19.

The second match began similarly to the first as Pratt (0-3) scored the first two points of the opening set. And, just like they did against Wheaton, the Violets came roaring back by scoring the next six points and grabbing the lead for good.  

NYU scored the first three points of the second set and the Cannoneers were never able to catch up as the Violets' lead grew to as many as 10 points.

The final set was deadlocked 9-9 when NYU went on a 9-2 run to take the lead for good. Pratt did pull within one, 20-19, but the Violets scored the final five points to close out the match.

A balanced attack at the net saw three Violets (Holz, Kelsey Kraetz (Skaneateles, NY/Skaneateles), Julia Passante (Norwood, NJ/Northern Valley Regional at Old Tappan)) record five kills and three others (Maddie DeJong (Houston, TX/Second Baptist School), Sabrina Krebs (Beijing, China/Western Academy of Beijing), Emily Kleck (Fisher, IN/Cathedral)) total four. Dao led with 11 assists, while Kupeli added eight digs.

"Going into next week we will really get tested. But, being balanced offensively will allow us to compete at an elite level," Brown added.  

The Violets will play their first road match of the young season when they travel to Glenside, PA, to face Arcadia University on Tuesday, September 3. First serve is set for 7:00pm.