The #23-ranked New York University women's volleyball team split its matches on Sunday, October 13, at the University Athletic Association (UAA) Round Robin #2 in St. Louis, MO. The Violets defeated #14-ranked Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) in three sets before suffering a loss to #8-ranked Washington University in St. Louis. 

In its first match of the day, NYU began the first set against the Spartans trailing 5-1. The Violets later fell behind 17-12, but a 4-1 run cut the deficit to two. Following two straight CWRU points, NYU won the next seven rallies to take its first lead of the day. The Violets wound up winning the set, 25-22.

NYU never trailed in the second frame, beginning the set with a 4-0 advantage. With the Violets in front 13-11, NYU won 12 of the next 13 points to take the stanza. 

The Violets once again stayed in front for the entirety of the third set after starting with a 6-1 lead. After the two teams traded points over the next several rallies, NYU separated itself with a 9-3 run to push its advantage to 20-9. Though the Spartans answered with three straight points, the Violets won five of the final seven points to clinch the match. 

"I think today's battle against Case Western really showed our full potential when our team is fully locked in and executing at our highest ability," said Head Coach Andrew Brown. "We did a good job of controlling our first contact with serving pressure in passing, and services are still loud for one of our most efficient hitting percentages all season."

NYU closed out the round robin against host WashU and started off with a 9-2 lead in the first set. With the Violets in front 13-6, the Bears scored eight consecutive points to pull in front. Down 19-17, the Violets used a 6-2 run to get to within two points of winning the set. However, the Bears won the final four points to take the frame.

WashU led the entire way in the second stanza, leading by as much as seven at one point. With the score tied 5-5, the Bears scored four consecutive points to keep NYU at arm's length. The Violets did get back to within one, trailing 12-11, but a 5-1 WashU run put the host ahead by five. The Bears ended up winning the set, 25-17.

The two teams were tied in the third frame 12-12, but NYU scored eight of the next nine points to jump in front by seven. The Violets took the set 25-16 to stay alive in the match.

Neither side led by more than three in the final set, in what was a closely contested final frame. NYU led for much of the opening, getting out to a 12-9 edge. WashU then won four of the next five rallies to even the score, but moments later, the Violets re-took the lead 17-15. With NYU up 18-16, a 4-1 Bears run gave them a one-point advantage. Though the Violets fought off one match point, they were unable to get back in front, losing the set 25-23. 

"In the match against WashU, it was a grind of a match with a lot of lead changes and back-and-forth play," added Brown. "I think we did a good job settling in to the third set and finding ways that we can be successful. In the fourth set, it felt like it was anybody's set to take, but we came up just a little bit too short."

Grace Nelson combined for a team-high 28 kills on the afternoon. Ava Launsbach dished out a total of 45 assists, while Yooni Park tallied 44 digs. 30 of Park's 44 digs came in NYU's match against WashU.

The Violets will now return home to take on Salisbury University on Friday, October 18, at the John A. Paulson Center in Manhattan. Game time is set for 6:00pm.