NYU Volleyball Defeats Eastern to Advance to NCAA Sweet Sixteen
The New York University women's volleyball team defeated Eastern University in the Second Round of the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament on Friday in Ithaca, New York.
NYU (31-4) claimed the four-set match 25-20, 20-25, 25-18, 25-13, and will face either Babson College or host Ithaca College in Saturday's Regional Final.
"Every team brings a unique challenge. Eastern played with confidence and had a good game plan against us," said NYU Head Coach Andrew Brown. "But, our team did a good job of forging together, facing adversity and battling everything they threw against us."
It was a tight opening set, with the teams staying within three points of each other for most of the way.
Eastern (28-4) led by one point (20-19) late in the set, but NYU strung together the final six points to grab the 1-0 advantage.
The second set featured 10 ties. The Violets held their biggest lead at 14-11, but the Eagles scored the next four points to go back in front.
With the score tied for the final time at 16-16, Eastern ran off the next five points and held the lead the rest of the way.
In the pivotal third set, neither team led by more than a point until NYU turned a 5-4 deficit into an 8-5 lead.
The Violets expanded their advantage to four points, 11-7, but the Eagles knotted up the score with the next four.
NYU went ahead by recording the next three points and then staying in front for good. An attack error by the Eagles concluded the set.
The final set began with a kill by Grace Nelson and ended on Taylor Odom's block. The Violets never trailed in between.
Haley Holz led three Violets in double-figures with 19 kills. Nelson finished with 11 and Leela Anvekar, who hit .588, had 10 to go along with four solo blocks.
"Thanks to our setter, Domi (Dominique Drust). You can't get a kill without a good set," Anvekar said. "I think we were connecting really, really well today."
Drust finished with a team-high 25 assists, with Ava Launsbach contributing 18.
Lindsey Hirano was all over the floor for the Violets, registering a match-high 30 digs.
"I think today showed how really deep our team is, how much value everyone has to our program," Brown added. "I couldn't be prouder of this team and how everyone stepped up."