The #20-ranked New York University women's volleyball team split its matches on Saturday, October 5, falling to #21-ranked Trinity University (TX) before bouncing back with a win over #22-ranked Ithaca College at the John A. Paulson Center.

The Violets are now 12-7 ahead of next week's University Athletic Association (UAA) Round Robin #2.

NYU began the day with 3-1 loss to Trinity. 

In the later match against Ithaca College, the Violets got out to a 13-3 lead with multiple scoring runs, highlighted by a trio of Chloe Lemons' kills and two each from Taylor Odum and Grace Nelson. NYU only conceded 10 more points as it raced through the first set to win 25-13. 

The Bombers came back in the second set fighting, as they began the frame with a 13-9 advantage. The Violets were playing catch up from then on, getting as close as 20-18, but ultimately losing 25-18.

"When you hit .500 in the first set, it is very impressive," said Head Coach Andrew Brown. "And the next set, we were a little error heavy, which caused a little bit of that gap. But then I think we kind of settled into the game plan."

The Violets broke a 5-5 tie in the third set with a Chloe Hynes kill and a Bombers' error to lead for the remainder of the stanza. Although this frame was more competitive than the first, NYU won the set 25-18 following a Nelson kill and two more Ithaca errors. 

NYU continued its momentum in the next set, breaking a 5-5 tie to lead the rest of the way, this time with an Odum kill and an Ithaca error. With the Violets in front 14-9, Ithaca scored five of the next six points to force a NYU timeout. The Violets responded with a 6-3 run to push their edge to four, but Ithaca got within two at 22-20.

NYU then closed out the match by winning three of the final four points. 

Odum registered a career-high 14 kills, while hitting .591. Nelson put down 12 kills and added 14 digs. Ava Launsbach assisted 26 times, a match-high.

"All in all, I think we had another good showing of distribution," continued Brown. "Looking forward, the UAA is just an unbelievably tough conference, but it's also just so much fun to be in because of the level of volleyball. We're still the defending champions, so we have to go out there with the mindset that we're right there with these teams to fight to win."

The Violets will next travel to St. Louis, MO, to play in the UAA round robin #2 on Sunday, October 13. NYU faces Case Western Reserve University at noon and host Washington University in St. Louis at 2:00pm.