On Saturday, August 31, the #6-ranked New York University women's volleyball team set off on its first road trip of the season, taking on St Joseph's University Long Island and host Drew University in Madison, NJ. 

In the first match, NYU clipped the wings of the Golden Eagles, defeating them handily 25-15, 25-16, and 25-16. 

The start of the first set saw the Violets and Golden Eagles go back and forth. But after a service ace from Ava Launsbach, NYU went on a 17-6 run and secured the set. NYU continued its dominance in the second and third sets, finishing off St Joseph Long Island with a pair of nine-point wins.  

Grace Nelson led the first match with 10 kills while Dominique Drust added a match-high 14 assists.

The second match, similar to the first, saw NYU defeat the Rangers in a three-set win (25-14, 25-9, 25-21). The visiting Violets established their presence with a commanding 11-point win in the first set and a 16-point win in the second. 

Drew wasn't going down without a fight as they tied it 20-20 in the final set. But, back-to-back kills from Chloe Hynes propelled NYU on a run to an eventual victory. 

"I thought today was a complete team effort and showed our depth of talent and hardworking players," said Head Coach Andrew Brown. "Our middles were all working extremely hard and the box score showed it. We will continue to focus on transition attacking as we prepare of our next match-up this week."

Nelson had her best outing so far with 16 kills and a .333 hitting percentage. Hynes finished with eight kills, Launsbach totaled a season-high 24 assists and Jessica Spierenburg  recorded five service aces.

"It was really exciting to play two matches today and see how we were able to maintain our energy, adapt to the different styles of each team, and pull out back-to-back wins," Spierenburg said. 

After today's road performance, the Violets will carry a three-match win streak into another road match at Kean University on Tuesday, September 3, in Union, NJ, at 7:00 PM.