NYU women’s volleyball travelled to Chicago last weekend to begin their University Athletic Association games. The Violets played three games in two days, facing nationally ranked opponents: Emory University, University of Chicago and Carnegie Mellon University.
It was a David vs. Goliath matchup in the weekend’s first game against nationally sixth-ranked Emory.
“We were excited to see which players would take our team to a new level and show us something we haven’t seen yet.” said junior captain Alexandria Mao. “It was difficult to predict what type of game it would be,” Mao said. “Our mindset going into the tournament was using this as a challenge that we haven’t really faced yet.”
The first set of the game was difficult for the Violets as they went down 12-25. NYU kept fighting in the second set before they fell again by a close margin of 22-25.
“Having a score as close as 22-25 proved that we could compete with a powerhouse like this team,” Mao said.
The Violets went on to lose the match 0-3, but the day was not over. During the first set against the Eagles, the Violets had a very low .071 hitting percentage, but increased it to .226 and .200 in the second and third sets, respectively.
Junior captain Hope Bogle recorded a team-high of 22 assists, Mao totaled 13 kills, and senior libero Kaylee Schanda had 20 digs.
Next, NYU had to face the 14th-ranked University of Chicago, the hosts of the UAA Round Robin number one tournament. The Violets fell in the first set by a 10-point deficit 15-25, but tied the game in the second set beating Chicago 25-23. The Violets went on to lose the last two sets 15-25 and 13-25.
Sophomore Allie Williams recorded 10 kills while freshmen Drew Kohl and Nicole Frias had five kills each.
Sunday marked a new day and NYU’s final match of the tournament. The Carnegie Mellon Tartans came out on top in the first set 18-25. But the loss fired up the Violets, who went on to win the next three sets 25-22, 25-15 and 25-18.
Mao had another amazing game, recording 16 kills and 13 digs. Kohl recorded her first-ever double-double with 11 kills and 15 digs while Schanda anchored the team in the back with a career-high 33 digs.
The women’s volleyball team will try to extend their home win streak to six games when they face Stevens Institute of Technology on Oct. 10. The game will be the first Tear It Up event of the season.
A version of this article appeared in the Oct. 1 print edition. Nico Cantor is a contributing writer. Email him at [email protected].
