Violets volleyball win second UAA title in three years

The NYU ladies’s volleyball group clinched their second UAA title within the final three years on Nov. 11 in Atlanta, Georgia. They confronted off towards earlier winners and host Emory College in entrance of 250 house followers within the championship sport, leaving with a 3-2 win.

The No. 6 ranked Violets went into the event with a 26-4 file general and 5-2 in convention. The No. 4 ranked Emory College had solely misplaced one sport the entire yr, boasting a 22-1 file general and 7-0 in convention.

“It feels nice to have the ability to win the convention for the primary and second time in class historical past whereas I’ve been right here,” mentioned senior and captain Haley Holz. The Violets gained their first UAA title in 2021, Holz’s sophomore yr. 

NYU swept apart Brandeis College 3-0 within the first spherical on Nov. 10 earlier than beating Case Western Reserve College 3-0 within the semifinal on the identical day. 

Though the primary set towards Brandeis was a cushty 25-11 win for NYU, the opposite two units had been a lot nearer video games.

Though Case Western had swept the Violets earlier within the convention season, NYU simply gained the primary two units and outlasted them in a tense ultimate set.

“It took a collective group effort, and we executed our sport plan and we studied what they did the primary time round,” mentioned head coach Andrew Brown. “They felt assured and we made actually aggressive performs when our group was being pushed, and I feel the group that stays probably the most aggressive in these actually high-pressure moments will all the time be rewarded.”

Going into the championship match, NYU had solely crushed Emory 4 occasions out of 27 matches since 2001. Earlier within the second spherical of UAA matches, the Eagles had already crushed the Violets 3-1.

“The message was to be assured and excited,” mentioned Brown. “Final yr, they beat us in Brooklyn within the convention event semifinals. We had been undoubtedly excited to play them at their house gymnasium on their essential court docket.” 

Emory received off to a fast begin, scoring 19 factors to NYU’s eight early within the first set. 

“After we had been down 19 to eight, it was actually like an unattainable deficit. I don’t assume I can bear in mind any volleyball I’ve ever seen, whether or not I performed, coached or watched on TV the place there’s been a bigger deficit than that to come back again from,” mentioned Brown. “However I feel every level after the rating hit 18, we began to get higher.”

The Violets rallied, scoring eight consecutive factors to shut out the set 25-22. They gained the second set 25-16.

Nonetheless, as soon as Emory took the lead within the third set, they refused to present it up, successful 25-15. The Eagles tied up the sport with a win within the fourth set, main the Violets to their first five-set match all season.

“I knew that strolling out of there with a three-set sweep was by no means going to be the story of this story,” Brown mentioned. “And there was part of the joy to play our fifth set, and that overshadowed any sense of ‘We’re shedding now, it’s tied,’ and we talked about issues we needed to proceed to deal with.”

The match was tense, with each groups buying and selling factors till Emory took the lead 13-11. Realizing they solely had a two-point error margin, the Violets put of their all — and closed out the ultimate set 15-13.

First-year Grace Nelson gained UAA Rookie of the Yr and was within the 2023 All-Affiliation Volleyball Second Crew with Holz. Junior Lindsey Hirano was chosen for the First Crew for her stellar defensive performances at libero over the season, rating first for digs within the convention with 636. 

Brown emphasised the tight-knit friendships the gamers constructed within the locker room, crediting them for the wins.

“We’re like a extremely shut household,” Brown mentioned. “Our tradition that we’ve taken over was already actually good. It was about persevering with to develop these bonds and people targets and the construction that may enable them to achieve success and stability each their teachers and volleyball.”

The Violets traveled to Ithaca this previous weekend for the regional spherical of the NCAA Division III Championship event. They swept Japanese Nazarene School and defeated Japanese College, then performed a ultimate sport towards hosts Ithaca School. After defeating Ithaca in straight units, the Violets punched their ticket into the event’s Elite Eight.

Their opponent within the quarterfinal is but to be decided, however the Violets will probably be touring to Claremont, California, on Nov. 29 for an opportunity to win their first nationwide championship.

Contact Jonathan Mak at [email protected].