From NYU Athletics
The New York University women's volleyball team picked up two victories during a tri-match hosted by Baruch College on Saturday, September 26, in Manhattan. NYU put the exclamation point on the afternoon with a nice comeback victory in their second match.
"We had a lot of preparation with being in a better place mentally than we have been heading into some of our other matches this season because we're such a young squad," said NYU Head Coach Jolie Ward. "The execution of our technique that we've been working with in practice, as well as building confidence as a young team without the experience of some of the other teams that we've faced, was on point today and I'm really proud of the girls."
The Violets (9-7) began with a quick 3-0 (25-7, 25-18, 25-8) victory over the hosting Bearcats (6-12) in the first match of the day. NYU jumped all over Baruch to start the match and never let up.
Rayne Ellis was supremely efficient against the Bearcats, hitting a near-flawless .615 and finishing with match bests in kills (10), total blocks (4) and points (12.0). Felllow sophomore Alexis Jackson also hit well (.444 hitting percentage) and totaled nine kills, three digs, two total blocks, and a service ace.
NYU's next match came against Haverford College (9-5) and it was anything but predictable. The Violets came away with the 3-2 victory (10-25, 24-26, 25-14, 25-20, 15-8), but had to fight back from a 2-0 deficit to do so.
After dropping the first set, NYU came close to evening up the match in the second when it held a 24-21 lead. The Fords stormed back, though, and won the set's final five points to take the commanding lead. NYU then took control and won the final three sets of the match for the quality victory.
"The Haverford win, to be honest, has been one of the biggest highlights for our team over the last two seasons," continued Ward. "With us having such a new and young squad and really just one player with collegiate experience in Nicole Frias, being able to come back from two sets down after losing that second set made our girls realize that they have so much more to give on the court. That's what we needed for this group, to get the confidence and that taste of winning."
Frias, the team's senior captain, finished with a team-best 14.5 points (12 kills, three total blocks) in the come-from-behind victory, while Jackson put on another good offensive performance. The sophomore notched 13 kills and had three digs and a block (13.5 points).
MATCH ONE HIGHLIGHTS:
- Jackson was the only other player to notch double-digit points, finishing behind Ellis with 11.0.
- Annie Singh and Frias each registered six kills. Singh also added three digs, two total blocks and an assist.
- Daryl Mitchell led all players with a match-best 22 assists. The rookie also notched four digs.
- Brooke Tannahill finished with a team-high nine digs and a match-best five service aces.
MATCH TWO HIGHLIGHTS:
- Singh was third on NYU with 12.5 points. The rookie registered nine kills, nine digs, a match-high-tying three service aces, and one block.
- Ellis had another efficient match, once again leading the Violets in hitting percentage (.350). The sophomore middle blocker finished with nine kills, five total blocks and a dig.
- Patricia Stirb played strong at the net, as well. The rookie led all players with six total blocks in addition to her five kills.
- Mitchell dished out a match and career-best 41 helpers against Haverford to go with 10 digs, one block and a service ace.
- Tannahill led all players with a match-high 18 digs. She also had five assists and two service aces.