The New York University women's volleyball team, ranked #6 in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), opened University Athletic Association competition at Round Robin #1, which is being hosted by Washington University in St. Louis on Saturday and Sunday, September 17-18.

The Violets and Bears played an ultra-competitive five-set match, with the hosts pulling out a 13-25, 25-18, 33-35, 25-23, 15-13 win.

The Violets then returned to the court later in the afternoon and defeated Brandeis University in straight sets  25-21, 25-20, 25-19. 

The match against #20 WashU was a classic, as the long-time UAA rivals went at it from the opening serve. The match was highlighted by a third set in which neither team led by more than three points and the Violets scored the final three to escape with the win. 

The Violets did have an early four-point lead in the fourth set and still led 23-22, but could not seal the deal as the Bears scored the final three points to even the match.

NYU scored the first three points of the fifth set and led 7-2 before WashU scored the next six points to take its first lead of the finale. The Violets fought back from an 11-8 deficit by scoring the next five points and grabbing a 13-11 lead.

However, once again the Violets could not put the Bears away, as the hosts scored the final five points to secure the hard-earned victory.  

The Violets had little time to dwell on their loss, as they had to refocus for their match against Brandeis...and they did not disappoint. They never trailed in either of the first two sets, and overcame an early three-point deficit in the final set to clinch the sweep. 

Haley Holz led the Violets over the two matches with 32 kills, including a career-high 23 against WashU. Gabriella Spaethling had 20 against Brandeis and 30 overall.

Dominique Drust totaled 47 assists and Nicole Dao contributed 39 over the two matches.   

Lindsey Hirano led the way along the back line all afternoon with 47 digs.  

"We had a hard-fought match against WashU. Credit to them for continuing to make adjustments," said Head Coach Andrew Brown. "It was a tough result because our team definitely wanted it. Overall, I think it shows how competitive our conference is and how the UAA sets itself apart as a pinnacle DIII powerhouse. The way our team rebounded and reset in the second match shows our unity and resilience. Overall, a successful day in our first two UAA matches."

NYU concludes play on Sunday with a 12:00pm (central time) match against Carnegie Mellon University.