NYU girls’ volleyball came up short in its opening tournament of the season, losing all four matches at the Kean University Invitational in Union, New Jersey. The Violets fell to Nebraska Wesleyan University, Johnson and Wales University, Albion College and SUNY New Paltz, respectively, over the course of Friday and Saturday.

Kelsey Kraetz, a sophomore player, expressed the team’s sentiments post-weekend.

“I think we were all a little disappointed with the outcome of our first weekend, but we learned a lot that will help us prepare for our UAA games, so it was beneficial,” Kraetz said.

Kraetz is a Mathematics major in CAS and saw action in each match.

The tournament kicked off on Friday evening with the Violets’ matches against Nebraska Wesleyan and Johnson and Wales. In each match, the Violets won the first set, but went on to drop the following three; against Nebraska Wesleyan, the Violets lost with set scores of 30-28, 21-25, 13-25 and 21-25, while losing to Johnson and Wales with scores of 25-23, 8-25, 19-25 and 16-25. Senior Rayne Ellis and Sophomore Caroline Rapp led the Violets in kills in each match, with 15 and 9 kills, respectively.

On Saturday, the Violets hoped to rebound, but lost their two matches against Albion and New Paltz, each in straight sets. NYU lost to Albion with set scores of 16-25, 19-25 and 22-25, while fall- ing to New Paltz with set scores of 14-25, 18-25 and 23-25. Fresh- man Kate Glavan led the Violets against Albion with 11 kills, while Rapp put up a team-high eight kills against New Paltz.

The tournament marked the collegiate debuts for Glavan and fellow freshman Lauren Ward. Following the Invitational conclusion, Rapp was named to the all-tournament team as a result of her outstanding play throughout.

Daryl Mitchell, a junior player in CAS, said that this was a weekend of growth for the team.

“This weekend was an important learning opportunity that gave us a chance to become familiar with each other on the court as teammates,” Mitchell said. “Now that we have had live court time to smooth out plays and foster greater game-time chemistry, we have more material to work with during this week’s practices. This point of the season is an optimal time to approach practice with a fine-tuned focus on the small details and techniques of the sport that can become huge deciding factors on game days.”

Mitchell started in all four matches for the Violets thus far.

The team hopes to put up its first win of the season in its next match when it faces off against the College of Mount Saint Vincent on Wednesday at 6 p.m.