Make it four-straight victories to open the season for New York University's Women's Volleyball Team, as they defeated both Rutgers University-Camden and DeSales University at the DeSales Invite on Saturday, September 4, in Center Valley, PA.
The Violets (4-0) began the day against the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers-Camden (2-1), winning in straight sets 25-16, 25-23, 25-17. NYU controlled the opening frame, but the second was closely contested throughout as the Violets led 24-23 before
Olivia Lewandowski (San Diego, CA/Del Norte) put home a kill to seal it. An 8-8 tie in the third was followed by eight unanswered NYU points to secure the sweep.
"We've gotten a lot of production out of our entire team over these first four matches," said Head Coach
Andrew Brown. "We're a very deep team with a lot of talent across the board. Everyone's working extremely hard in practice and pushing the tempo, which is allowing us to compete at this level."
Captain
Abby Ausmus (San Diego, CA/La Jolla Country Day School) led the way for NYU against the Scarlet Knights, contributing match highs of 11 kills and four block assists.
Ella Weider (Los Gatos, CA/Los Gatos) added seven kills on offense, while rookies
Dominique Drust (Coto de Caza, CA/Santa Margarita Catholic) (12 assists) and
Lindsey Hirano (South Pasadena, CA/South Pasadena) (20 digs) were key to the victory as well.
"Multi-shots worked really well for us today, whether it was tips or going deep," said Holz. "We did a good job of mixing up our shots and keeping our side clean."
The Violets faced off with host DeSales in the nightcap with the Bulldogs handing NYU its first set loss of the season. However, the Violets bounced back efficiently and left with a 25-23, 25-16, 15-25, 25-13 win. After dropping the third, NYU raced out to a 17-2 lead in the fourth and did not look back from there.
"The adjustment we made towards the end of the third set was very visible," said Brown. "We were able to flip a switch and gain some momentum which translated over into that fourth set. I think that was our first test as a team and we did a really good job of realizing we were still up 2-1 and the fourth would be a new opportunity."
Ella Spaethling (Larkspur, CA/Redwood) delivered a match- and career-high 22 kills to go with 10 digs for her first double-double of the year. Holz added a double-double of her own, notching 12 kills and 11 digs.
Nicole Dao (Bethesda, MD/The Academy of Holy Cross) handed out 23 assists, Drust put up 16 and Hirano secured double-digit digs (13) once again.
"We played like the team that we know that we are," said Spaethling. "We were able to terminate the ball and get ahead in the beginning, which allowed us to be successful."
Today's wins make this the second-straight season that NYU has started 4-0, as the 2019 squad rattled off six wins to open their campaign.
The Violets return to the court next Saturday, September 11, at the Kean Tri-Match in Union, NJ, taking on SUNY Cortland (2pm) and host Kean University (4pm).
