The New York University women's volleyball team opened the NYU Mid-September Invitational with a match victory against Wentworth Institute of Technology on Friday, September 18, at the John A. Paulson Center in Manhattan.
The Violets opened the invitational with a five-set victory over Wentworth (25-13, 25-14, 20-25, 22-25, 15-13).
"When we're clean, we're unbeatable," said Head Coach
Andrew Brown, "I am a true believer that there is not a team in this country that can stop us."
The Violets jumped out to an early advantage in the opening frame, scoring the first six points of the match. NYU never trailed and maintained control with back-to-back blocks from
KylieEmma Obeto to win the set.
NYU carried its momentum into the second stanza, never trailing again and opening with three consecutive points. After Wentworth battled back to even the score, the Violets answered with two consecutive kills from
Casey Cho to regain control. NYU maintained its separation before closing out the frame.
Wentworth responded in the third set, pulling even with NYU before building a lead. The Violets chipped away at the deficit, with
Sarah Beville and
Kate Scherlacher each recording back-to-back service aces to spark the comeback. However, Wentworth answered each NYU run to maintain its advantage and extend the match.
The Violets battled back from an early deficit in the fourth set, cutting Wentworth's lead to one at 7-6. NYU continued to chip away, eventually tying the score at 21-21 before the Leopards pulled ahead late.
NYU led 6-2 early in the deciding set, but Wentworth quickly erased the deficit, scoring four of the next five points to cut the deficit to one. The teams traded points throughout the remainder of the set, but the Violets then closed out the comeback with the final point.
Grace Nelson led the Violets with 18 kills, followed by
Lucianna Welles with 10. Scherlacher recorded a team-high six service aces, while Nelson and
Felicia Wu added three apiece. Obeto led NYU with four blocks, followed by Barton and Welles with three each. Scherlacher also paced the Violets with 26 assists, while
Alden Roberts added 19.
Lily Leung recorded a team-high 12 digs, followed by Beville with 10.
The Violets will continue the NYU Mid-September Invitational on Saturday, September 19, at the John A. Paulson Center. NYU is scheduled to face No. 5 Massachusetts Institute of Technology at 12:15 p.m.
