NYU is Final Four bound!

The Violets pulled off a dramatic five-set victory and have advanced to the NCAA Division III Final Four for the second consecutive season. 

After taking the first two sets and falling in the next two, the New York University women's volleyball team regrouped to capture the fifth set and defeat the University of Northwestern-St. Paul on Wednesday, November 29, at Claremont-McKenna College in Claremont, CA.

In a tight match throughout, the Violets withstood the punches and came out on top by scores of 29-27, 25-19, 23-25, 21-25, 15-13.

"As the pressure builds, this team has proven that they can push it into another gear," said Head Coach Andrew Brown. "We just stayed super confident."

The match did not start out well for the Violets, who fell behind at the beginning and trailed 16-10 midway though the opening set. A 9-2 run gave NYU its first lead at 19-18 and the teams stayed within a point of each other until Elise Curtin's kill and an Eagles' error gave NYU the opening set.

Things started out much better in the second set, as the Violets raced out to a 6-2 lead. Northwestern came back to tie the score at 10-10, but NYU recorded the next two points and never relinquished the lead. The Violets grew their advantage to as many as seven points, 23-16, and went on to clinch the match on Haley Holz's kill. 

The Violets led 3-1 in the third set, but it was all Eagles after that. Northwestern opened up several five-point leads before NYU cut its deficit to one, 16-15. The Eagles responded by establishing a set-high six-point lead, 21-15. NYU kept pursuing, cutting its deficit to single points at 23-22 and 24-23. But, the Violets fell short as the Eagles held on to capture the set. 

NYU again took an early two-point lead in the fourth set. The Violets were still up by one, 6-5, when the Eagles went on a 4-0 run and stayed ahead for good. Their lead grew to as many as six points at 22-16, and the Violets never got closer than three the rest of the way.

The ultra-dramatic fifth set started well for the Violets as they went ahead 3-0. They were overtaken at 5-4, but bounced back to take a set-high four-point lead 9-5. 

The Eagles did not fly away, instead rallying to tie the match 13-13. But, a kill by Grace Nelson followed by Ava Launsbach's service ace finally put an end to the nearly 2-1/2-hour match. 

"To be absolutely honest, while I was serving I just kept thinking 'don't miss, don't miss.' I just wanted to put the ball in play," Launsbach said. "I'm just so happy right now."  

Holz, an American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) First Team All-American, and Nelson, AVCA's Freshman of the Year and Second Team selection, were dominant at the net. Nelson finished with a match-high 23 kills while Holz was right behind with 20.

Lindsey Hirano, another First Team All-American, traversed the court with a match-high 36 digs (including the 2,000th of her career), while Nelson (15), Launsbach (11), and Holz (10) also reached double-digits. Launsbach contributed a match-high 32 assists with Dominique Drust adding 23.

Camille Nazor finished with a team-high five blocks. 

The Violets, who lost to Northwestern in straight sets at home on October 13, have won 17 straight matches since then. The Eagles (32-5) were one of four teams to beat NYU (33-4) this season. The Violets have now exacted revenge on each of the teams that defeated them during the season (Ithaca, Case Western Reserve and Emory were the others).   

"Our team is very good at adapting to different situations," Brown explained. "We've seen it with every rematch we've had. Sometimes you have to take risks and will be rewarded. We have to push the tempo and that's been our recipe to try and flip the script in these rematches."  

NYU, the #3 seed at the Elite 8, will face Juniata (#2) in the National Semifinals on Thursday at 5pm (pacific).   

"We saw ultimate teamwork out there today. I'm just so proud of them for getting the job done," Brown added. "Now, it's about rest, rinse, repeat in terms of mentally and physically getting ready for our next match. We know we will be facing a very strong team with a great deal of experience. We're excited for the opportunity to keep playing."