From NYU Athletics

The New York University women's volleyball team opened up play at the New York Region Challenge with a win, defeating Nazareth College 3-0 on Friday, October 27. The two-day event features teams from across the region and is taking place at the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY.

NYU (8-20) has now won four of its last five matches after the convincing 25-22, 25-16, 25-20 victory over the Golden Flyers, who entered the match with a 19-10 record. 

"We made a few tweaks to our defense and blocking," said Acting Head Coach Karl France. "What we've been trying to accomplish is to have a cohesive defensive performance and make other teams be uncomfortable by playing out of their systems."

Nazareth led 9-7 in the opening set before six-straight points put the Violets ahead. The Golden Flyers answered, however, and retook the lead at 18-17 before a late NYU run helped the squad reclaim the lead en route to the first-set win.

The Violets kept the momentum going into the second set as they scored eight of the first 11 points in the frame. Nazareth closed the NYU lead to one at 10-9, but it was all Violets after that as they won the set 25-16.

The Golden Flyers came out fast in the third set and took a 10-6 lead, but five straight NYU points put the Violets in front, 11-10. The frame remained close until NYU broke a 20-20 tie with five-straight points to clinch the frame and win the match 3-0. The final four points were served up by Grace Napolitano and the final score came on a Nazareth ball-handling error.

The straight-set win was the second for the Violets this season.

HIGHLIGHTS:

- Rayne Ellis led a balanced attack for NYU with nine kills. The reigning University Athletic Association (UAA) Athlete of the Week attacked at a .500 clip and also added three blocks 

- Zel Fortson (14) and Katie Goyette (13) each dished out double-digit assists.

- Jaqueline Kupeli led the Violets with 12 digs.

- Nazzerine Waldon served up a career-best four aces. 

"The goal is to stay as healthy as possible and keep this momentum going," added France.