The New York University women's volleyball team began its first University Athletic Association competition of the season on Saturday, September 27, by facing Washignton University in St. Louis (WashU) and the University of Chicago in UAA Round Robin #1 hosted by Emory University in Atlanta, GA.
In a tense five-set battle in the opener, the Violets fell to
#5-ranked WashU 26-24, 14-25, 25-22, 26-28, 15-11.
The teams alternated victories in the back-and-forth affair, with two sets exceeding the regulation 25 points.
In the deciding fifth set, the Violets overcame an early three-point deficit and led by as many as three (6-3). However, the momentum shifted and the Bears reclaimed an 11-10 lead. After a WashU error evened the score, the Bears went on a 4-0 streak to end the match.
"The match went back and forth. It was a typical UAA, high-level, high-energy, competitive match-up," said Head Coach
Andrew Brown. "We made tactical adjustments and handled adversity well, but just came up a bit short."
Grace Nelson (17) and
Chloe Hynes (15) each had double-digit kills for NYU.
Ava Launsbach led the way with 33 assists while
Jessica Ding added 16. Launsbach also contributed 11 digs with
Kaitlyn Sato pacing the team with 15. Nelson added four aces and four blocks, and
Jessica Spierenburg had five and four, respectively.
The Violets rebounded for a four-set victory over UChicago in the second match (10-25, 25-19, 26-24, 25-18).
In the pivotal third set, NYU raced out to a 6-1 lead but eventually trailed 17-14. The Violets tied things at 17-17, and five more deadlocks ensued. With the set (and potentially the match) hanging in the balance at 24-24, a Maroon service error followed by a combo block from Hynes and Spierenburg put NYU back in a power position.
The Violets never trailed in the final set.
"Though we came out flat, we completely reset our tone and focus and did a great job of responding," Brown said. "We got better under pressure the rest of the games. Everyone contributed offensively and it became difficult for them to slow us down."
Nelson and Hynes each finished with 11 kills. Launsbach's 24 assists were team high as was Nelson's nine digs and Spierenburg's six blocks.
The Violets return to action on Sunday and will face the University of Rochester at 10:00am.
