Competing at the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship in Rochester, NY, the New York University women's volleyball team lost their first contest against Washington University in St Louis and then rebounded for a five-set win over Brandeis University in their second match on Friday, November 15.
 
The Violets, 21-11 this season, began tournament play against WashU. In a highly-contested four-set match, the Violets fell short 3-1. In the second match, NYU came back and beat Brandeis in five sets for their second victory of the season over the Judges.
 
The match against WashU was a nail-biter as for the majority of the match, the teams were within a point of each other. 
 
In set one the Violets forced a time-out at 24-22, but WashU responded with a kill putting them up one set.  
 
The second set was much like the first. Middle attackers Jessica Spierenburg and Taylor Odum got three kills to put the Violets up 19-16. The Bears equalized at 25-25, but Spierenburg stepped up to close the second with a kill, assisted by Ava Launsbach, and a set-ending block for the 27-25 victory.
 
The Bears took the next two sets 25-22 and 25-23, respectively, despite NYU's efforts. Spierenburg and Odum were strong performers posting 10 kills each with the help of Launsbach, who had 24 assists in the match. Grace Nelson was strong from the service line with four aces against the Bears.
 
In the second match against Brandeis the Violets had a slow start, dropping the first set to the Judges 25-18.
 
NYU made quick work of the next two sets beginning with a 25-16 win in the second. Duru Topcu was instrumental with an ace in her five-point service run to help close the set.

The Violets won the third set 25-19, but the Judges fought back to take the fourth 25-20.
 
NYU responded by dominating the final set, breezing to a 15-4 victory as Nelson's three aces to start set the tone. 
 
Chloe Hynes led the team in kills, posting 15, while Nelson and Spierenburg each followed with 10. Yooni Park held down the back row with 21 digs, and Alden Roberts and Launsbach set the team up for success with their assists. Roberts recorded 20, while Launsbach posted 19. 
 
The #6 seeded Violets will face #4 Carnegie Mellon University to determine fifth place at 10:00am on Saturday.