The New York University women's volleyball team rounded out the UAA Championship with the third-place match on Sunday, November 16, in Waltham, MA. 

The Violets faced off against top-seed University of Chicago and edged out a five-set thriller, 25-27, 27-25, 16-25, 25-23, 15-10.

The opening set was tight from wire-to-wire as neither team led by more than three points. With the score tied at 25-25, the Maroons took back-to-back points and the Violets dropped the opener. 

NYU began the second set with a 10-3 lead that grew to as many as 10 points at 17-7. However, UChicago fought their way back after a five-point run at 20-15 tied the set. The Maroons then took a 24-21 lead, but the Violets staved off three consecutive set points to tie the score at 24-24. After NYU took a 26-25 lead, one set point was all it would need, as a service ace from Kaitlyn Sato secured the final point. 

After falling in the third set, the Violets dug deep in a must-win fourth set. They jumped out to an early 11-4 lead, but the Maroons tied the score at 15-15. Four more ties ensued, with the final one at 21-21. NYU fought for a 24-22 lead, and forced a fifth set after a kill by Sarah Lattan.

A fifth set was only fitting for a match where two sets went above the regulation 25 points. Neither team separated in the final set until the Violets broke a 7-7 tie with a three-point run. NYU's lead never dropped below two points after that as Coco Barton sealed the win and a third-place finish in the UAA Championship with a kill. 

Chloe Lemons led the offense with 11 kills while Helena Foord totaled 10 alongside 10 digs for a double-double. Ava Launsbach tallied a season-high 18 digs to go with 28 assists. Sato recorded double-digit digs with 13. 

"I think we really doubled down on the word team and what that means to us. When you feels the walls closing and the pressure mounting, but you know your team has your back, it helps you forge ahead," said Head Coach Andrew Brown. "Players really stepped up at critical moments and we have really high-level assistant coaches who help those players get into a confident head space."

The Violets now await a possible NCAA Tournament bid, which will be announced at the Division III Women's Volleyball Selection Show on Monday, November 17, at 1 pm.