The New York University women's volleyball team, ranked #7 in the nation in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) preseason poll, passed its first test of the 2022 season by winning both matches on the first day of competition at the Pacific Coast Classic in Claremont, CA. 

The Violets (2-0) opened the day with a straight set victory over Chapman University (25-20, 25-17, 25-16) before defeating host Pamona-Pitzer in four sets (17-25, 25-20, 25-18, 25-21).

"Today the team did a great job at making adjustments and handling both of our opponents' attacks," said head coach Andrew Brown. "Adversity and unity was the key to our success, along with relentless defense, which gave us additional opportunities to score points."

After advancing to the Regional Finals of last year's NCAA Tournament, the Violets returned to the court on Friday and continued their stellar play.

In the first match, returnees Gabriella Spaething (11) and Ella Weider (10) each reached double-digits in kills, while Haley Holz added nine. Veterans Nicole Dao (20) and Dominique Drust (14) set up their teammates with double-digit digs. 

Although the Violets dropped the first set of the second match, the squad picked up the tempo and recorded three straight wins.

This time, it was Olivia Lewandowski who led along the front line, recording 15 kills. Holz contributed 13 while Weider added nine. Once again, it was Drust (24) and Dao (22) spearheading the offensive attack.

Lindsay Hirano was a stalwart along the back line, contributing a total of 51 digs over the two matches.

NYU returns to action on Saturday, facing California Lutheran University at 9:00am (PST) and host #2 Claremont Mudd-Scripps at (1:30pm).