The
No. 11 New York University women's volleyball team made program history Sunday, finishing the UAA regular season undefeated for the first time with wins over Case Western Reserve University and the No. 18 University of Chicago.
The Violets battled past Case Western in five sets (22-25, 22-25, 25-21, 25-23, 15-8) before securing a three-set victory over Chicago (25-17, 26-24, 25-18).
"The conference is strong this year," said Head Coach
Andrew Brown. "Any opportunity to find success as we did in regular season will help us continue as we move into the latter half of the season."
Adding to the historic finish, the doubleheader also marked Head Coach
Andrew Brown's 200th career win with the Violets.
"I am lucky to have coached such amazing athletes in my time at NYU," Brown said, reflecting on his tenure with the Violets. "This wouldn't be possible without [Assistant Coach]
Rachel Bello. Her sacrifices and dedication to this program are immeasurable."
Match 1: NYU 3, CWRU 2
NYU and Case Western battled through two closely contested opening sets, trading points throughout. The Spartans pulled ahead late in the first set and edged out the Violets in the second to take a 2-0 lead.
The Violets trailed through set three, falling behind 13-18, before
Casey Cho delivered four service aces and
Tatum Chase added two kills and a block to put NYU ahead and secure the set.
NYU carried that turnaround into the fourth stanza, as
Coco Barton and
Chloe Lemons each recorded a kill-and-block combo to put the Violets ahead. In the deciding set, a five-point rally helped NYU complete the reverse sweep and seal the victory.
Match 2: NYU 3, Chicago 0
Both teams opened set one trading points early before the Violets rallied four consecutive points, highlighted by a kill-and-block combination from
Lucianna Welles. NYU maintained the lead to close set one.
The Violets trailed early, responding to cut the deficit to two. NYU rallied five consecutive points late in the set to take the lead and win a closely contested frame.
After trading points, NYU surged ahead with four consecutive kills, including two from Lemons. Barton added two blocks and a kill as the Violets maintained the lead, secured the set, and finished conference play undefeated.
Across the two matches, Chase and Lemons led NYU with 20 kills apiece. Cho recorded five service aces, while Barton tallied 14 blocks.
Kate Scherlacher contributed 41 assists, and
Lily Leung led the Violets with 22 digs.
The Violets will return to action Friday, October 30, traveling to West Hartford, CT, to take on the University of Hartford at 6:30 p.m. ET.
