The #19-ranked New York University women's volleyball team hosted the University Athletic Association (UAA) Round Robin #2 on Sunday, October 11, at the John A. Paulson Center in Manhattan.
The Violets met #3-ranked Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in their first match and the University of Rochester (UR) in their second. And, the home team came out unscathed as they remained in first place and unbeaten in the UAA with victories against both of their opponents.
In a five-set thriller to open the proceedings, NYU edged Carnegie Mellon 23-25, 25-21, 26-28, 25-21, 15-12. The Violets then swept Rochester 25-18, 25-17, 25-22.
NYU never led in the first set against CMU, taking its first lead in the second set by scoring the first three points. The Tartans pulled ahead at 13-12 and then again at 19-18. However, NYU scored the next four points and clinched the set on a combo block from
Sienna Morales and
Tatum Chase.
The Violets trailed 10-8 in the third set, but went on 7-1 run to go up 15-11. CMU cut it to 15-14, but NYU regained several three-point leads. It stayed close the rest of the way, with NYU eventually ahead 25-24. But, CMU scored the final three points to capture the set and seemingly grab the momentum.
"The game of volleyball is all about momentum. I told the team that we were doing a lot of really good things. It just didn't go our way at the end of that third set," said NYU Head Coach
Andrew Brown. "We had our opportunities to close it out, but we needed to stay more aggressive. And that was just the message going into the fourth set, that we can be the aggressor and not wait for them to set the tone."
NYU raced to a 5-0 lead in the fourth set, increased it to 17-10. and closed in out on a Tartans' attack error.
In the final set, neither team led by more than two points until another Morales/Chase block put NYU ahead 12-9. The Violets' lead increased to 14-10 on another Tartans' attack error and the match was clinched on
Chloe Lemons' kill moments later.
"In the fifth set we were really locked in and efficient on all sides of the ball," Brown added.
Chase finished the match with a team-high 13 kills while Lemons had 12.
Kate Scherlacher and
Alden Roberts had 23 and 21 assists, respectively, and
Lily Leung led the way with 20 digs.
NYU did not let down in its second match, overwhelming the Yellowjackets right from the start. The Violets never trailed in any of the three sets en route to their ninth straight victory.
Lucianna Welles led the Violets with 10 kills. Roberts had 22 assists and Scherlacher added 15,
Daniela Laing had a team-high seven digs.
"Offensively, we were really dialed in across the board," Brown explained. "Everyone was contributing to scoring points for us so it made it really hard for them to slow us down."
The Violets return to action this Friday, October 16, when they host John Jay College back at the Paulson Center. The match is scheduled to begin at 6:30pm.
