From NYU Athletics
The New York University women's volleyball team won a pair of matches in straight sets on Friday, September 9, during day one of the Hawks Invitational, hosted by SUNY New Paltz in New Paltz, NY. NYU first defeated The Sage Colleges, before beating Mt. St. Mary College.
After dropping their first two matches of the season, the Violets have now won four straight. All of their victories during the streak have come in straight sets.
"This was a great way to start the weekend," said NYU Head Coach Jolie Ward. "I feel like we hit a stride early and continued the rhythm into the second match. We started both matches with strong first sets and were able to build from there."
In NYU's opening match against Sage (2-4), the squad set the tone scoring seven of the first nine points en route to a 25-10 first-set victory. The second set was similar as the Violets held early leads of 8-2 and 10-3 before winning 25-11. The Dolphins were more competitive in the third set, but NYU came out on top, 25-17, to win the frame and clinch the match. The Violets were extremely efficient against Sage, recording 44 kills on 106 attempts, with just eight errors (.340).
NYU later defeated Mt. St. Mary (1-6) in similar fashion. The Violets, who never trailed in the match, got off to a fast start with a 25-15 opening set victory and won the second set 25-20. In the third set, the Violets broke a 7-7 tie with a 9-3 run and held on to win 25-17 to extend their winning streak to four. NYU once again had dominant attacking numbers as the squad finished with 36 kills in 89 attacks and made just nine errors (.303).
Highlights vs. Sage:
- Rayne Ellis recorded a match-high 14 kills, while Gretchen Cash chipped in with 10.
- Katie Goyette dished out 33 assists to pace the Violets. She tallied double-digit digs, finishing with 12.
- Grace Napolitano collected a match-best 14 digs.
- The Violets finished with 12 service aces in the three-set match. Shelby King (four), Zel Fortson (two), Napolitano (two), and Annie Singh (two) each recorded multiple aces.
Highlights vs. Mt. St. Mary:
- Ellis once again recorded a match-high in kills (13).
- Daryl Mitchell handled the setting duties for the Violets and finished with 21 helpers.
- Napolitano (eight), Stephanie Mao (eight) and Caroline Rapp (seven) combined for 23 digs in the win.
"Today's performance was a good building block for tomorrow and the strategies that we need to use," added Ward. "The teams we play tomorrow are bigger-size groups with regard to stature, so we need to make sure we continue to pass consistently and keep building the offense like we did today and we'll do well."