Two more opponents faced and two more opponents defeated.
The New York University Women's Volleyball Team,
ranked #10 in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) continued its undefeated 2021 season (16-0) with victories over the University of Scranton and Arcadia University on Saturday, October 9, at the Brooklyn Athletic Facility in Brooklyn, NY.
In addition to celebrating the wins, the Violets also celebrated Senior Day with seven players honored in a pre-game ceremony:
Abby Ausmus (San Diego, CA/La Jolla Country Day School),
Gretchen Kincade (Franklin Lakes, NJ/Ramapo),
Emily Kleck (Indianapolis, IN/Cathedral),
Julia Passante (Norwood, NJ/Northern Valley Regional at Old Tappan),
Lauren Robinson (Honolulu, HI/Punahou School),
Jessie Tsang (San Ramon, CA/Dougherty Valley), and
Amy Zhang (Cary, NC/Green Hope).
"I think all the seniors are grateful that the day was so special," said Ausmus, the team's captain. "I'm proud to be on this team. We have really good drive and want to continue to stay undefeated and be a part of this historical run during our final season."
NYU (16-0) defeated Scranton (19-3) in the first match in four sets: 25-17, 25-21, 16-25, 25-11, then returned to the court to beat Arcadia (10-11) in straight sets: 25-15, 25-15, 25-16.
The Violets trailed only once in the first set vs. Scranton (19-3). Behind 2-1, NYU scored the next eight points and never led by less than four the rest of the way.
NYU led by as many as six points (12-6) in the second set, but the Royals came back to tie it at 20-20. However, the Violets scored the next four points and then clinched the set on
Taylor Odum (Houston, TX/Memorial)'s kill.
In the third set, Scranton trailed 15-14 but scored the next four points and held the lead the rest of the way.
The Violets got back on track early in the final set, going on a 10-0 run to extend a 5-3 lead to 15-3. NYU went up by as many as 14 points and ended the match on Kleck's block.
Haley Holz (Palatine, IL/Palatine) led NYU with 10 kills, while
Ella Spaethling (Larkspur, CA/Redwood) and
Ella Weider (Los Gatos, CA/Los Gatos) each had seven.
Nicole Dao (Bethesda, MD/The Academy of Holy Cross) led the way with 17 assists, and
Lindsey Hirano (South Pasadena, CA/South Pasadena) (20) and Holz (12) each produced double-digit digs as NYU snapped Scranton's 12-match winning streak.
"This senior group has been extremely special to our program from day one. They came in with a purpose and put our program back on the map," said Head Coach
Andrew Brown. "I'm proud of each and every one of them, as well as their dedication and hard work both in the classroom and on the court."
In the opening set vs. Arcadia, the Knights scored the first point. But, the Violets scored the next four and stayed ahead the rest of the way, increasing their lead to as many as 10 points and ending the set with a kill by Holz.
The second set was tied 6-6 when NYU went on a 12-0 run and easily cruised to the victory.
The Knights scored the first point of the final set, but it was the final lead they would have as the persistent Violets put together several small streaks to keep a comfortable margin throughout. The final point of the day was recorded on a kill by Spaethling.
Holz again led the way with 10 kills. Ausmus recorded four service aces, Hirano had 15 digs and
Zephyr Ning (San Jose, CA/The Harker School) had a team-high eight assists.
"As the day continued our level of play continued to rise," Brown added. "I felt these two matches will help prepare us for the next UAA round where we will continue to work on the little things as we get set for the second half of the season."
The Violets return to the court on Sunday, October 17, when they compete at UAA Round Robin #3 hosted by Emory University in Atlanta, GA. NYU will face Carnegie Mellon University at 12:00 pm and Case Western University at 2:00 pm.
