The ninth-ranked New York University women's volleyball team defeated Susquehanna University in front of a passionate home crowd at the Brooklyn Athletic Facility on Friday night by set scores of 21-25, 25-12, 25-18, 25-19. 

The Violets and River Hawks kicked off the first set trading points back and forth until Susquehanna began edging ahead to a five-point lead at the 16th point. A 5-1 run brought the Violets back to a tie at the 19th point. Still, Susquehanna squeaked out a four-point victory.

"We told our team we needed to reset and play gritty defense," Head Coach Andrew Brown said of the Violets' bounce-back second set. "We needed to be more physical in our front row, but also playing good defense around it. Players did a good job settling into passing, got more consistent, great battle of great plays, great swings, great blocks. Proud of their ability to stay together in pressured moments. Our crowd helped a lot."

In the second, the Violets locked into a new gear, bolstered by kills from Leela Anvekar, Olivia Lewandowski, Taylor Odum, and Haley Holz. Holding the River Hawks to -.212 hitting in the frame, the Violets nailed down a 13-point lead to take the win.

NYU continued its momentum through a close third set. By the 18th point, they held a tight lead of two points over the visitors. A kill by Anvekar helped NYU start pulling away at the 19th point. From there, the hosts fleshed out a 7-2 run to clinch the win. 

Susquehanna drove hard in the fourth set, holding the Violets to a tie up until the eighth point. Holz helped NYU set a new tone with a kill, propelling her team to a six point lead. The River Hawks responded with a strong push to bring the game back to a tie at 18-18. Despite this, the Violets hammered out a win by six points to finish the match and improve to 9-2 on the year. 

Anvekar finished with a career-high 13 kills on an impressive, error-free .765 hitting percentage along with nine block assists. Holz finished with a match-high-tying 14 kills and three aces. Lewandowski added an 11-kill, 13-dig double-double while Nicole Dao (23) and Dominique Drust (17) both contributed double-digit assists.

"We showed another layer of our game tonight, so kudos to our middle hitters and passers. They did a really good job of showing up in the box score," Brown added.

Lindsey Hirano brought up a match-high 26 digs, flying around all night to limit Susquehanna's attack.

NYU returns to action on Saturday, September 23, to play both #24 Tufts University and #16 Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT.