The New York University Women's Volleyball Team faced Clarkson University and a bit of adversity in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, November 13.
But, the resilient Violets (28-1) found a way to overcome both obstacles and produce a 25-23, 25-22, 25-23 straight-set victory over the Golden Knights (20-10).
Play at Canavan Arena on the campus of Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ, was halted for nearly two hours after a heavy rain caused a leak in the roof. NYU had a 16-14 lead in the second set when the delay began. After the court location was moved and play resumed, the Violets were slow to get back into the groove.
Clarkson scored the first six points after the resumption of play.
"Every time that something as big of a shift like that happens, you are always worried about player safety, re-warming up, going out there when there's a lot of physical and mental drain on the court," Head Coach
Andrew Brown explained. "It's always a challenge. I wouldn't say we were worried when they started with that streak. but we were aware that we had to adjust and find our way back into the match."
The adjustment came soon. Still trailing 19-17, the Violets recorded the next four points and never trailed again. It was 24-22 when
Abby Ausmus' (San Diego, CA/La Jolla Country Day School) kill ended the set.
In the opening set, for the first time in the tournament, NYU fell behind as Clarkson took a 16-14 lead. However, a 7-2 run re-established a lead for NYU, which the team never relinquished. The Violets went ahead 24-21 on a kill by Ausmus, but the Golden Knights scored the next two points and served for the tie. But, a back-and-forth volley ended with a kill by
Olivia Lewandowski (San Diego, CA/Del Norte) as the Violets captured the first set.
In a tightly-contested final set, the Violets trailed by three points early. Behind 7-6, NYU scored the next four points to take the lead for good. Clarkson pulled within one point on several occasions, the final time at 24-23. However, an attack error by the Golden Knights secured the NYU victory.
Haley Holz (Palatine, IL/Palatine), who was a force at the net, led the way with 12 kills.
"I don't think the delay affected us that much," Holz said. "One of the core values of this team is adaptability. We knew what we had to do, but it just took us a little bit to get there."
Ella Spaethling (Larkspur, CA/Redwood) added eight kills, while Ausmus and
Emily Kleck (Indianapolis, IN/Cathedral) each had six along with a team-high three blocks.
Lindsey Hirano (South Pasadena, CA/South Pasadena) posted a match-high 16 digs for NYU, while
Dominique Drust (Coto de Caza, CA/Santa Margarita Catholic) (21) and
Nicole Dao (Bethesda, MD/The Academy of Holy Cross) (16) each had double-digit assists.
"I'm ecstatic and so is the team," Holz added. "We've been working really hard for this. We're super excited."
The Violet will now play against Trinity University (TX) in Sunday's Regional Final. The match is scheduled to begin at 2:00 pm.
