New York University's sixth-ranked women's volleyball team split its two matches on the first day of competition at the 2022 University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship, which the Violets are hosting at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY, on Friday and Saturday, November 4-5.

The Violets entered as the top seed, sweeping eighth-seed Brandeis University in the quarterfinals before falling to fourth-seeded Emory University in the semis.

Emory, which is tied with NYU at #6 in the most recent national rankings, will play second-seeded WashU in the title match tomorrow afternoon.

NYU started the day off by defeating Brandeis by set scores of 25-20, 25-17, 25-23. 

In the first set, the Violets used a 10-3 run to secure an early lead they held onto through the first. 

NYU continued its momentum into the second set, posting an 11-4 run with kills by Olivia Lewandowski, Gabriella Spaethling, Haley Holz, Leela Anvekar, and Ella Weider. The Judges responded with a 5-0 spurt, but it wasn't enough to overtake the Violets. 

Brandeis stayed much closer in the third set, trading leads of two or three points with NYU. However, at 10-10, the Violets unleashed a 7-0 run, supported by two service aces from Ava Launsbach, giving them enough of an advantage to stay ahead and win the match. 

Lewandowski and Holz put down 12 and 11 kills, respectively, while Hirano added 26 digs to her resumé.

In the other first-round matches of the championship, (4) Emory swept (5) Case Western Reserve University while (2) WashU defeated (7) University of Rochester 3-1. (6) Carnegie Mellon University upset (3) University of Chicago in five sets.

Later in the day, the Violets faced off against Emory in a rematch of the 2021 UAA Championship Final and against a team they defeated in five sets at UAA Round Robin #3. This time, the Eagles came out on top by set scores of 25-18, 18-25, 25-22, 25-20. 

In the first set, both sides traded one- or two-point leads through most of the action. But, a pair of 4-0 runs for Emory helped them pull ahead and take the first. 

The Violets put up a grittier performance in the second set, recording a 9-0 run with three kills from Spaethling to equalize the match. 

In the third set, the teams knotted the game at 16-16 after an 11-3 run for the Eagles and a 12-5 run from the Violets. Despite this, Emory managed to squeeze into a lead with a critical 3-0 run to win the third.

The Eagles played aggressively in the fourth set, posting a 10-2 run early on. The Violets responded with a 5-0 streak, but Emory held them back with two separate 5-1 runs to win the match. 

Holz led the Violets at 15 kills, followed closely by Spaethling with 14. Hirano posted 18 digs while Launsbach and Drust both logged double-digit assists. 

NYU will conclude the tournament by taking on Carnegie Mellon in the third-place match beginning at 1 p.m. tomorrow.