The NYU Lady Violets volleyball team showed their dominance against fellow New York school Hunter College last night, winning by a score of 3 sets to 0 and pushing their record above .500 at 5-4.

The Violets got out to a quick start thanks to multiple kills from junior Nicole Frias and freshman Zoe Prince. Hunter was forced to take two timeouts in the set to try to regroup, but failed both times, as NYU went on massive runs following both breaks in the action. They turned a 14-8 lead into a 22-13 lead seemingly in the blink of an eye, and went on to win the game 25-13 on a monstrous kill from sophomore outside hitter Gigi Morally.

The second set went much like the first, as the Violets came roaring out of the gates to the tune of an 8-2 advantage. They struggled a bit in the middle of the set, allowing Hunter to close the gap before extending their lead back to 17-11 and forcing an opposing timeout. At the conclusion of the timeout, the Violets got a good run of serving from junior Ashley Toth that swelled the lead to 20-11. This was shortly followed by a well-struck kill from Frias, set by Toth, to make the lead 22-12, and force yet another Hunter timeout. At the onset of play, NYU made quick work of the second set thanks to two straight kills by sophomore Kacy Guajardo — assisted by Toth and freshman Brooke Tannahill — and Frias, who delivered the final kill.

The third set, however, was much more of a challenge. Hunter came out of the between-set break much more spirited, and their bench players finally started to match NYU’s noise level. The Violets struggled to connect on a few sets. Tannahill, however, kept her team in the set with four service aces in a five-point span. The Violets had to deal with a strong last ditch effort from Hunter senior middle blocker Lucia Stosic, who had five big kills in the final set. But thanks to yet another service ace from Tannahill, an opportune timeout by head coach Jolie Ward, and some clutch hitting, the Violets were able to overcome their third set lull and pull away by a score of 25-22.

Leading the team in points was Frias, who finished with a tally of 8.5. Just behind her was sophomore outside hitter Josie Luck with eight. The duo both had eight kills in the match. Luck also led the way in digs. Overall, it was a strong performance with a balanced attack and defense.

“After a rough weekend in Massachusetts it was really nice to come back to our home court and win this match against Hunter,” Frias said, alluding to the disappointing 1-3 finish at the Endicott Invitational.

Now, with a winning record, the Violets will look to build a winning streak when they compete at the New Paltz Invitational this weekend.

A version of this article appeared in the Thursday, Sept. 11 print edition. Email Bobby Wagner at [email protected]