They displayed excellence, heart and determination all season long. They captured New York University's first-ever University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship and the top seed in the NCAA Tournament's Hoboken Region.

The NYU Women's Volleyball Team displayed all of those characteristics on Sunday, November 14, against Trinity University (TX) in the Regional Final, though the Violets fell just short in their bid to defeat the American Volleyball Coaches Association's (AVCA) #2-ranked team.

The Violets (28-2) won the first set 25-18, but the Tigers (34-2) rallied to take the next three 25-22, 25-17 and 32-30 in an epic final set.  

"I am super grateful for this team. I think we're a better team than we even thought," said senior captain Abby Ausmus (San Diego, CA/La Jolla Country Day School). "What this game showed me is that we're a top-five team. People may have doubted us, but going to battle with this Trinity team that's so talented and ranked number two shows how good we are. I think we even exceeded our own expectations."   

The match started off with seven straight NYU points and the Violets were never seriously threatened, grabbing a pair of 10-point leads along the way. The Tigers pulled within 24-18, but a kill by Haley Holz (Palatine, IL/Palatine) ended the set.

Trinity squared things up by taking the second set. NYU had an early three-point lead, but the Tigers' 4-0 run gave them their first lead of the match, 9-8. They went on to lead by six at 23-17, but five straight NYU points brought the Violets within one. However, the Tigers managed to record the final two points and even the match at 1-1.

Trinity carried its momentum into the third set, racing out to a 9-1 lead and increasing their advantage to as many as 13 points. NYU trailed 23-11 late, but rallied to draw within seven, 23-16. That was as close as the Violets would get as the Tigers closed out the set.   

"They spun their rotation. They switched their right sides and flipped them for a better match-up against us," explained Head Coach Andrew Brown. "But, I thought we did a decent job of trying to adapt to the different tempos that both those hitters were swinging. And then in the fourth set we went ahead and spun our rotations to match-up to the original one. It was kind of cat and mouse, but I think our players did a really good job dealing with the adversity of it."   

The final set provided intense drama throughout. NYU fell behind early, then led by as many as five points at 15-10. Still ahead 23-20, Trinity rallied for the next four points, putting NYU at the brink of elimination. But, the resiliency that was seen throughout the season was immediately employed as Holz and Emily Kleck (Indianapolis, IN/Cathedral) combined for a block to extend the set.

Six more ties ensued with each team saving match points.

Knotted for the final time at 30-30, consecutive kills by the Tigers ended NYU's historic season.   

"Today was a true example of how determined they are, how gritty they are, how united they are," Brown said. "The respect, the confidence, it was all on display. Hats off to Trinity. This was a pair of powerhouse teams really going at it. We put everything out on the floor and we can hang our hats on that."

Holz finished with a team-high 12 kills, Dominique Drust (Coto de Caza, CA/Santa Margarita Catholic) had a match-high 22 assists and Lindsey Hirano (South Pasadena, CA/South Pasadena) led the way with a match-high 21 digs. Both Holz and Hirano were named to the All-Tournament Team.

"I'm extremely proud of this team," Hirano said. "I came into the season with no expectations and I'm so proud of how we've grown and especially that last set. Every single point we put our hearts out there. It's been a really great experience and I'm excited to see how our team does next year." 

The team will have a different look in 2022 with Ausmus and her fellow seniors Kleck, Gretchen Kincade (Franklin Lakes, NJ/Ramapo), 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) no longer on the roster.

"These seniors have done so much physical change with this program, and after the stoppage of Covid they were determined to put us back in a postseason opportunity and not do it through an at-large bid but to do it with the automatic bid of winning the UAA," Brown added. "It shows that all their time and sacrifice was worth it. It's something they will remember for the rest of their lives and there's no challenge that they won't feel comfortable going up against."

It was certainly a year of challenges for this team, one that provided historic accomplishments and a dramatic ending not soon forgotten.