It was a successful final day of the NYU Showdown for New York University's 10th-ranked women's volleyball team, defeating ninth-ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and 19th-ranked Massachusetts Institute of Technology at the Brooklyn Athletic Facility on Saturday.

The Violets opened the day with a four-set victory over UWW (25-20, 27-29, 25-16, 25-21) and followed with a gritty, five-set win over MIT (28-26, 21-25, 25-20, 20-25, 15-13) in the nightcap.

"This weekend was great for our team," said head coach Andrew Brown. "Every opponent is tough, whether they're regionally or nationally ranked, and that's going to ultimately prepare us for the second half of our season going into the last round of UAAs with solid performances against extremely good teams."

NYU finished 3-1 at the Showdown, as yesterday saw the squad fall to eighth-ranked Calvin University before defeating Swarthmore College.

"Everyone did a really good job establishing their role and what they bring to the team, both players on and off the court," Brown added. "Our talent runs deep and allows us to be successful over a multiple-match weekend."

In Saturday's action, the Violets won the first set against UWW as they never trailed after tying the frame 1-1. Six unanswered points from NYU made it 10-3 and the Warhawks never came closer than four points the rest of the way.

UWW used 22 kills to take a highly-competitive second set, 29-27, but the Violets bounced back with a match-high .421 hitting percentage in the third to go up 2-1 in games.

Whitewater ran out to a 15-11 lead in the fourth, but NYU responded with a 9-2 run to go ahead by three (20-17) and didn't look back from there to secure the match.

Haley Holz produced a match-high 20 kills, along with four total blocks, while Olivia Lewandowski contributed 14 kills of her own and Leela Anvekar had nine.

Lindsey Hirano posted a season- and match-high 32 digs, Ava Launsbach had a 21-assist, 14-dig double-double and Dominique Drust added 23 assists in the win.

Against MIT, the Violets gutted out a 28-26 first-set triumph behind 18 kills in the frame. The Engineers took the second, however, holding NYU to a .086 hitting percentage to even the match at one.

NYU bounced back to take the third as three consecutive kills from Holz for the final three points of the set gave the momentum back to the home side.

The Violets led 5-2 in the fourth, but six unanswered points from the visitors put them in the drivers seat as NYU trailed for the remainder of the set, resulting in the first five-set match of the Showdown.

MIT led 8-7 in the fifth until a 5-0 NYU run put the hosts back on top, then Holz sealed the marathon victory with another decisive kill.

Holz finished with a team-high 16 kills while Lewandowski contributed a 13-kill, 12-dig double-double and Anvekar had another nine-kill showing.

Ella Weider added eight kills, Drust had another double-double (23 assists, 13 digs) and Hirano delivered a team-high 22 digs.

Launsbach, a rookie, notched a season-high 28 assists along with a pair of service aces.

The Violets head back on the road for their next match, taking on Hunter College in Manhattan on Tuesday, October 11, at 6:00 p.m.