The ninth-ranked New York University women's volleyball team toughed it out through two grueling matches on Saturday in Middletown, CT, facing #24 Tufts University in the afternoon and host #16 Wesleyan University (CT) at night. They lost in a tight, five-set battle to Tufts and came back to defeat Wesleyan in another five-set match.
Fresh off the previous night's victory against Susquehanna University, NYU showed a strong game against Tufts, pushing them to five sets. Despite this, the Violets lost by set scores of 22-25, 25-18, 21-25, 25-23, 15-11.
Playing well in the first set with a match-high hitting percentage of .303, the Violets used an impressive 18-4 run to give themselves a three-point victory.
In the second set, the Jumbos managed to withstand NYU's attack and used 13 kills to win the frame and even the match at 1-1.
NYU bounced back to take the third set, though, as kills by
Gabriella Spaethling,
Haley Holz,
Ella Weider and
Eveliena Pasmooij, along with two service aces by Holz and
Leela Anvekar, propelled the Violets to a closely-contested triumph.
The Violets and Jumbos traded points through the fourth set until NYU led 21-14, when the Jumbos picked up steam with an 11-2 run to once again even the match at two sets apiece.
Now at a match score of 2-2, the Violets defense stepped up by holding the Jumbos to a match-low hitting percentage of .136. Still, Tufts managed to squeak out enough of a lead to reach the 15th point first and end the match.
"I think Tufts did a really good job of not backing down and continuing to fight throughout the entire match," noted head coach
Andrew Brown. "We had opportunities but, overall, we learned a lot about our team and were able to make huge adjustments and come together during the break."
Holz led the Violets with a match-high 22 kills while Spaethling added 10 of her own.
Nicole Dao (14) and
Ava Launsbach (10) both had double-digit assists while
Lindsey Hirano posted 15 digs.
After a long break in the action, the Violets faced off against Wesleyan in another display of gritty volleyball against a roaring home crowd cheering on the Cardinals. Their determination paid off with a win by set scores of 23-25, 27-25, 20-25, 25-21, 15-10.
In the first set, both teams swapped the lead back and forth until the Cardinals found a new rhythm after a late timeout, pulling ahead to secure the win.
The same rhythm played out in the second set with neither team letting the other get ahead by more than three points. Finally, three kills in a row by
Olivia Lewandowski brought the Violets back to a match tie at 1-1.
The Cardinals hit a match-high .275 to drive the Violets to lose the third set 20-25.
This only served as fuel for reaching another level as NYU hit hard in the fourth set, reaching an efficient .375. Launsbach was instrumental in setting for the Violets with eight assists, helping her tie her career high of 10 assists that she set earlier that day against Tufts.
"In the fourth set of the Wesleyan game, I think our team did a really good job at not just swinging hard power, we started to tip balls and push balls to open spots which really exploited their defense and allowed us to earn easy points," Brown said.
The momentum continued into the final set as the Violets' defense held the Cardinals to a match low –.083. Racing out an 8-2 run at the end of their long day, NYU finished off the final set to end the marathon on a high note.
"In the end I think we worked really hard to fight for this win and make an adjustment from the morning, and it will really help us as we prepare for UAA Round 2 next weekend," Brown added.
Holz had another 20-kill performance in the nightcap, in addition to 10 digs for a double-double, with Lewandowski totaling 16 kills herself. Dao finished with a 22-assist, 13-dig double-double and Hirano notched 26 digs to anchor the back line.
The Violets revert back to UAA play next, heading to Pittsburgh, PA, for UAA Round Robin #2 to play University of Chicago and Case Western Reserve University on Sunday, October 2.
