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NYU Sweeps Two at UAA Round Robin 2
Story and Photo Courtesy of the NYU Athletics Site
The New York University women's volleyball team swept the
University of Chicago and host Brandeis University on the first day
of the University Athletic Association (UAA) Round Robin #2 on
Saturday, October 16, in Waltham, MA.
In the first match of the day, the Violets (23-3, 4-1 UAA),
currently ranked #23 in the AVCA Division III Coaches Top 25 Poll,
snapped a three-match losing streak to the 17th-ranked Maroons
(21-6, 3-2 UAA) with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-14) win.
"After two tough losses last year to Chicago it was great to come
out today and pull off a meaningful and rewarding win," said
interim head coach Chris
Pinto. "The team has had its eye on this match for
weeks, and to come out with such a huge win is a credit to the
drive and determination of the whole team."
Leading NYU on offense with her best match of the season was
Sally
Downs, who produced a match-high 12 kills while
hitting a career-best .706.
Also in double-digits on offense was Kendyl
Dunn, who notched 10 kills along with three blocks
(including two solos).
Setter Mina
Baban led a powerful NYU offense by putting up 36
assists, leading the team to a .287 hitting percentage, and adding
nine digs on defense. The junior also set a personal milestone by
surpassing 3,000 assists for her career.
On defense, Alexis
Schwartz led the team with 13 digs, while Erin
McLaughlin added 11 digs and five kills.
Rachel
Sawyer added a huge boost from behind the end line.
The senior's serving helped the Violets open up a 10-0 lead
in the second set. Overall, she recorded a team-high two aces
on 21 serves and put up nine digs.
For the Maroons, Katie Trela tallied seven kills, while Samantha
Brown added 15 digs.
In the second match of the day, NYU swept host Brandeis University (13-9, 1-4 UAA) in just under one hour.
Leading the offense for the Violets was Beth Fionda, who put down 11 kills while hitting .429 with three blocks. Dunn continued her strong day on offense by recording nine kills and hitting .333 with a service ace and two blocks.
On defense, Saywer surpassed the 1,600 dig mark for her career with a team-high 14 and now has 1,605. Also in double-digits on defense were Baban and McLaughlin. Both recorded 10 digs, while McLaughlin added nine digs and Baban put up 30 assists.
For the Judges of Brandeis, Paige Blasco notched 14 kills while Abby Blasco put up 13 digs.
The Violets return to action for the final day of UAA round robin play on Sunday. NYU will begin the day against top-ranked and defending national champion Washington University at 10:00 am, followed by the University of Rochester at noon.
